Palestinians handcuffed, detained for picking wildflowers http://972mag.com/idf-protects-thorns-detains-palestinians/

IDF gunmen detained three Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, on suspicion of picking an endangered plant, Gundelia tournefortiii. They handcuffed one of the Palestinians, and kept the detainees for about three hours, standing outside in the sun. One of them, aged over 60, felt ill and, after an intervention by the women of Machsom Watch, received medical treatment. The IDF Spokesman did not dispute the facts (Hebrew). Gundelia tournefortii is a thistle, the use of which is popular in Palestinian cuisine ... this incident, which can properly be described as grotesque, clarifies the essence of the occupation. The Palestinians are prohibited from picking thistles that have been part of their diet for generations, because a foreign occupier has forbidden them to, naturally without bothering to consult them.