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Raging Israeli farmers storm Lebanese border fence during protest

Israeli farmers have been demonstrating for weeks against reforms to produce imports proposed by the Finance Ministry, which they say will devastate the local agriculture industry.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Israeli agricultural workers protesting against potential reforms to the import of fruits and vegetables followed up on a recent egg-hurling, intersection blocking protest by storming the Lebanese border fence on Tuesday afternoon.

In a chaotic scene, protesters waving Israeli flags attempted to scale the border fence near Moshav Avivim but were held back by security forces.

However, some demonstrators managed to seriously damage the fence, cutting a hole in it big enough for some protesters to pass through.

IDF soldiers and farmers scuffled, but nobody was reported to be seriously injured during the clash.

The majority of the demonstrators wore shirts bearing the phrase “We are protectors of the nation.”

Amit Yifrach, chair of Israel Farmers’ Association said in a statement that Israeli agriculture was a critical element of the Jewish State’s security.

“We are the farmers who guard the borders of the state with vigilance,” he said. “It’s impossible for the state to abandon our livelihood, that of thousands of families on the northern and southern borders.

“I am here today and say, the Israeli government can not abandon the farmers of the state or its citizens in a dangerous reform [that will make us] dependent on the whims of [foreign] importers.

For weeks, Israeli farmers have been demonstrating against new policies around produce importation proposed by the Finance Ministry, which they say will devastate the local agriculture industry.

While Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman has said that easing import restrictions will lower price for consumers, farmers say the blame for high prices on fruits and vegetables lies with retailers.

Shay Hajaj, head of the Merhavim Regional Council, told Ynet that the blame for the high produce prices lies with retailers and supermarket chains who artificially inflate prices – not the farmers.

“The brokerage fees are a crime. A commission of inquiry should be set up to examine the causes of such high fees and how they can be reduced,” he said.

“We intend to go with all our might against the coalition partners, even at the cost of a coalition crisis,” the Israeli Farmers Union said in a statement.

“The unilateral reform as it stands today is a clear statement by the finance and agriculture ministries that Israeli citizens will eat fruits and vegetables from Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, and eggs from Ukraine, all while farmers living in the Golan, [Judea and Samaria] and near Lebanon are forced to uproot their fields and register at the unemployment office.”