Palestinian lemon trees on trial

The Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet reviews the film "Lemon Tree" about a Palestinian woman called Salma who goes to court to save her lemon trees, which stand on the Border with the West Bank, from being cut down for allegedly posing a security risk. "'Security measure' is not a magic formula that automatically gives Israel the right to expropriate Palestinian property or curb the property rights of Palestinians," the daily writes, quoting the former judge of Israel's supreme court Aharon Barak. "On the contrary," it adds, "every insult must be weighed up against the interest of protecting lives. ... This does not save Salma's wood in the film. But for many Palestinian and Israeli Arabs it is legislative measures rather than political reform ... that make life somewhat more bearable."

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