'Harassed for picking plants' in Valley Jordan

Shepherds in the northern Jordan Valley have been harassed by the Israeli authorities for picking an edible plant they say is protected, a village council head said Saturday. The villages of al-Maleh and al-Madareb lie in an area of Israeli control in the Tubas governorate, and Israel's Nature Authority have threatened Palestinian residents with fines of more than 5,000 shekels for picking tumbleweed in the area, Bedouin village council head Aref Daraghmeh said. Nature Authority officials and the Israeli army have handed summons to a number of residents and blocked them from picking the plants, he said. In Mak-hul village, forces detained local Ashraf al-Asmar in recent weeks in a similar case, the council chief added. Daraghmeh complained that while the Israeli authority says it is protecting nature, it permits Israeli tanks to operate in the area, wiping out bird and animal habitats, and uprooting trees.