Usually, we associate cattle rustlers with the Wild West and cowboy movies...

Rise in cattle thefts in south [Israel] ahead of Muslim holiday

Israeli farm owners concerned over dramatic increase in thefts of cattle, sheep by Palestinians in preparation for ‘Festival of Sacrifice,’ during which Muslims feast on lamb and beef; one of them says thieves have become ‘more sophisticated’.

Tova Dadon

The past two weeks have seen a sharp rise in thefts of cattle and sheep from farms in south Israel ahead of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

The Muslim holiday will be celebrated in late November. During Eid al-Adha - Arabic for “the Festival of the Sacrifice” - believers traditionally feast on lamb and beef.

A senior Border Guard officer told Ynet that the scope of cattle thefts by Palestinians this year is unprecedented. “We know that during the holiday they (Muslims) eat as much beef as possible, but it is not clear why cattle thefts are up compared to last year.”

During a raid which took place Sunday on the Palestinian village of Idna, located in the South Mount Hebron area, IDF and Border Guard forces found two calves that had been stolen just two days earlier from Moshav Bitzaron.

Three other head of cattle belonging to the moshav were apparently butchered or sold on the Palestinian market.

The owner of the farm at Bitzaron, Nissim Raiten, said, “These thefts severely harm our livelihood,” adding that the Palestinian thieves managed to crawl under the fence surrounding his farm.

Tomer Zuler, head of Be’er Tuvia Regional Council’s security committee, said, “We’ve had two years of relative calm, but now we are dealing with cattle thefts every night. The thieves have become more sophisticated. They throw metal objects at people who chase after them, and if they run out of those they can even throw a calf at you.”

Zuler accuses Palestinians who are employed by the Israeli farms of “gathering intelligence” for the thieves.

Associated Press contributed to the report

First and foremost, before the Israel bashers get going, Moshav Bitzaron is not and never has been located in the disputed territories, was founded in 1935 on land purchased legally during the British Mandate and registered in the Land Registry. Its residents are not settlers.

Stealing cattle, for whatever reason, was the major reason for conflict between the early Zionist pioneers who established farm on land they bought in the 1880s, and has continued ever since, apparently.