The trees that were removed from Mosta square were harbouring Hamas operatives, the town’s local council is claiming.
The decision to remove the ficus trees, which had been providing shelter for both people and birds for decades, sparked outrage in Mosta and beyond on Monday morning.
However, according to the local council, it was forced to carry out the removal by the state of Israel.
“This morning we received a phone call from [Foreign Affairs Minister] Ian Borg. He said he was passing on a message from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) that stated the trees were being used as a command centre by Hamas operatives disguised as birds. They told him that unless we got rid of the trees, the IDF would bomb the town square,” said Mosta mayor Christopher Grech.
“I have no reason to doubt Ian Borg when it comes to the well-being of trees, or Israel’s insistence that it doesn’t bomb places indiscriminately, so we immediately started cutting them down. We did in fact find some bird nests, but no weaponry or communications equipment of any kind. I guess they found out their cover was blown and moved to some other trees,” he added.
The mayor’s version of events was corroborated by a spokesperson for the Environmental and Resource Authority (ERA).
“Erm, yes. Hamas, that’s it. Palestinian terrorists are an invasive species, you know? Terrible for the local environment. We had no choice.”
Asked how Hamas operatives may have ended up in the trees, the spokesman said:
“No idea, honestly. It’s definitely not because Mosta or most other places in Malta resemble Gaza now.”
