Khaberni - The occupation does not commit a crime without cloaking it in security justifications. However, this time, it's not about a massacre against the Palestinians or the peoples of the region, but a slaughter targeting hundreds of crocodiles at a farm in Tzofar, in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, details of which were revealed last August.
The new development in the case is the claim made today, Wednesday, by the Civil Administration and the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority that the execution of the crocodiles was a measure aimed at thwarting a "terrorist operation". The bodies claimed that hostile entities could have breached the farm's wall to release these reptiles across the West Bank, posing a danger to Israelis.
The Civil Administration and the Nature and Parks Authority announced that no investigation would be opened into the crocodile killings, asserting that the decision was made "to minimize their suffering after difficult living conditions and to protect the public from immediate dangers."
The action has drawn widespread criticism, especially from environmental protection organizations and animal rights advocates who have called on the Civil Administration and the Israeli Nature and Parks Authorities to "investigate the incident" and take measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
In response, the Israeli authorities, including the Ministry of Agriculture, clarified that they had directed the farm owners to make reforms and take measures to ensure the crocodiles neither escape nor unmonitored people enter; several escape incidents have been controlled. However, the phenomenon of unlicensed individuals entering the farm—whether to view these animals up close or interact with them—has increased security concerns over the last two years.
Official bodies claimed that the crocodiles were held in poor conditions, and that the farm owner fed small crocodiles to the larger ones, and that their killing was part of international protocols allowing hunting. They confirmed that the incident was isolated and did not necessitate investigation, indicating that the government's animal affairs advisor, Tal Gilboa, had been calling since last April to end the crocodiles' life "due to their conditions and suffering."
In contrast, environmental organizations believed the authorities' claims lacked foundation, noting that many crocodiles were healthy and plump, suggesting that their killing was not an act of mercy, especially as there were possibilities to improve their conditions and provide appropriate nutrition and water; however, such measures were not seriously undertaken.
