23 Israeli Attacks in 12 Hours Target West Bank Olive Harvest
(MENAFN) Israeli forces and illegal Israeli occupiers carried out 23 attacks and violations against Palestinian farmers, their land and solidarity activists across seven West Bank governorates in a single 12-hour stretch on Wednesday, a Palestinian commission reported.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said the incidents occurred between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time (0300-1500 GMT), at the height of the olive harvest. Nablus recorded the most, with 10 incidents. Ramallah and Al-Bireh followed with six, Salfit and Hebron had two each, and Qalqilya, Jenin and Bethlehem had one each.
According to the commission, the violations ranged from shootings, beatings and arrests to blocked harvests, stolen crops and equipment, and the burning and bulldozing of farmland.
Injuries and arrests
A Palestinian farmer was shot in the hand with live fire while picking olives in the village of Osarin, in Nablus governorate, the commission said. In Salfit governorate, another farmer suffered severe breathing difficulties after being hit with pepper spray in the Wadi Abbas area of Qarawat Bani Hassan.
In the al-Habla area of Nahalin, southwest of Bethlehem, Israeli forces attacked farmers and solidarity activists and arrested an elderly woman and several activists, the commission said. Among them was Brad Lander, a Democratic candidate for the US Congress. Forces also confiscated the harvested olives.
The commission also reported the arrest of a Russian solidarity activist taking part in the harvest in the Christian town of Taybeh, in the central West Bank, and of a young Palestinian man picking olives in Kafr ad-Dik, in the north.
Nablus governorate
Illegal Israeli occupiers set fire to farmland in the town of Burqa, while Israeli bulldozers flattened olive-planted land in the Rajmanat area of Madama, the commission said. Near Jalud School, occupiers attacked olive pickers and fired toward them before Israeli forces arrived and beat the farmers.
In Beit Furik, occupiers hurled harvested olives to the ground and seized crops at gunpoint, driving families from their fields. Olives and agricultural equipment were also stolen in Qaryut, Awarta and Tell, and farmers were expelled from the Wadi Abuwayn area of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya. In Beita’s al-Jiza area, Israeli forces chased farmers, blocked their harvest and fired in their direction.
Ramallah, Hebron, Qalqilya and Jenin
In Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, farmers were barred from reaching their land in the al-Harayiq area of Deir Jarir. Farmers, journalists and commission staff were forced out of farmland in Turmus Ayya after Israeli forces declared it a closed military zone. Landowners were blocked from harvesting in al-Mughayyir, and occupiers drove livestock onto olive-planted land in Burqa and Kafr Malik.
In Hebron governorate, armed occupiers fired toward olive pickers in the Birin area, while farmers and activists were stopped from harvesting in Idhna. In Qalqilya governorate, occupiers cut down olive trees in the town of Farata, east of the city. Farmers in Deir Abu Daif, east of Jenin, were ordered off their land even though they had obtained prior coordination and approval to be there.
A harvest under siege
The commission said the incidents combine direct attacks, military closures, arrests and crop confiscations, turning access to farmland into a daily struggle. It warned that expelling landowners and targeting activists and journalists undermines efforts to protect the harvest and document violations. It called for effective measures to guarantee farmers’ safe, uninterrupted access to their land and for accountability for those responsible.
Attacks by illegal Israeli occupiers on Palestinians and their farmland have intensified since the harvest began in early October. The season is a vital source of income for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to Palestinian figures, about 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 194 settlements and roughly 400 outposts. Settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law. Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli authorities of failing to prevent such attacks or to hold perpetrators accountable.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said the incidents occurred between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time (0300-1500 GMT), at the height of the olive harvest. Nablus recorded the most, with 10 incidents. Ramallah and Al-Bireh followed with six, Salfit and Hebron had two each, and Qalqilya, Jenin and Bethlehem had one each.
According to the commission, the violations ranged from shootings, beatings and arrests to blocked harvests, stolen crops and equipment, and the burning and bulldozing of farmland.
Injuries and arrests
A Palestinian farmer was shot in the hand with live fire while picking olives in the village of Osarin, in Nablus governorate, the commission said. In Salfit governorate, another farmer suffered severe breathing difficulties after being hit with pepper spray in the Wadi Abbas area of Qarawat Bani Hassan.
In the al-Habla area of Nahalin, southwest of Bethlehem, Israeli forces attacked farmers and solidarity activists and arrested an elderly woman and several activists, the commission said. Among them was Brad Lander, a Democratic candidate for the US Congress. Forces also confiscated the harvested olives.
The commission also reported the arrest of a Russian solidarity activist taking part in the harvest in the Christian town of Taybeh, in the central West Bank, and of a young Palestinian man picking olives in Kafr ad-Dik, in the north.
Nablus governorate
Illegal Israeli occupiers set fire to farmland in the town of Burqa, while Israeli bulldozers flattened olive-planted land in the Rajmanat area of Madama, the commission said. Near Jalud School, occupiers attacked olive pickers and fired toward them before Israeli forces arrived and beat the farmers.
In Beit Furik, occupiers hurled harvested olives to the ground and seized crops at gunpoint, driving families from their fields. Olives and agricultural equipment were also stolen in Qaryut, Awarta and Tell, and farmers were expelled from the Wadi Abuwayn area of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya. In Beita’s al-Jiza area, Israeli forces chased farmers, blocked their harvest and fired in their direction.
Ramallah, Hebron, Qalqilya and Jenin
In Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, farmers were barred from reaching their land in the al-Harayiq area of Deir Jarir. Farmers, journalists and commission staff were forced out of farmland in Turmus Ayya after Israeli forces declared it a closed military zone. Landowners were blocked from harvesting in al-Mughayyir, and occupiers drove livestock onto olive-planted land in Burqa and Kafr Malik.
In Hebron governorate, armed occupiers fired toward olive pickers in the Birin area, while farmers and activists were stopped from harvesting in Idhna. In Qalqilya governorate, occupiers cut down olive trees in the town of Farata, east of the city. Farmers in Deir Abu Daif, east of Jenin, were ordered off their land even though they had obtained prior coordination and approval to be there.
A harvest under siege
The commission said the incidents combine direct attacks, military closures, arrests and crop confiscations, turning access to farmland into a daily struggle. It warned that expelling landowners and targeting activists and journalists undermines efforts to protect the harvest and document violations. It called for effective measures to guarantee farmers’ safe, uninterrupted access to their land and for accountability for those responsible.
Attacks by illegal Israeli occupiers on Palestinians and their farmland have intensified since the harvest began in early October. The season is a vital source of income for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to Palestinian figures, about 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 194 settlements and roughly 400 outposts. Settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law. Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli authorities of failing to prevent such attacks or to hold perpetrators accountable.
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