A measure to humiliate

Two months ago I went to listen to Jeff Halper the Israeli academic who was touring Australia. His lectures carried the title "The Countdown to Apartheid". One of the many issues he discussed was the reason why the Israelis, whether settlers with the explicit help of the glorious IDF soldiers or the administrative authorities uproot olive trees sometimes 500 years old. It's not land clearance he explained, though it could be a reason in certain instances, but mainly as a measure to humiliate and embitter the lives of the Palestinians and drive them to despair and consequently leave. This fact struck me in a way that other facts did not, not in the same way at least. It dawned on me( as if this was still possible) that essentially what was the objective of the occupation was not only to take over the land and drive the population out but to humiliate and mortify and torture for no other reason but to do so!