NABLUS, Wednesday, October 30, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers today attacked olive harvesters with rocks in the town of Huwwara, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, injuring at least three harvesters.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the north of the West Bank, told WAFA that a group of settlers threw rocks at farmers as they were picking olive fruits in the area of al-Naqqar, injuring three of them with bruises.
Two of the casualties were identified as Mayor of Huwwara Nasser al-Huwwari, Deputy mayor Kamal Odeh.
The settlers came from Yitzhar, an illegal settlement inhabited by hardcore fanatic Jews.
Meanwhile, settlers stole the olive harvest of Palestinian farmers near the village of Deir al-Hatab, to the east of Nablus city.
Daghlas confirmed that a number of Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves in the area of Ras Hazem, located near the illegal settlement of Alon Moreh, but they were completely shocked to find out that Israeli settlers had stolen their harvest and destroyed some of the trees.
He slammed the settlers’ attacks against olive harvesters, which happen under the watch of Israeli soldiers, as a policy intended to discourage Palestinians from tending to their farmlands.
Over the past four weeks, the West Bank witnessed a wave of settler attacks and as Palestinian farmers began the year’s olive harvest. Attacks were mainly in the vicinity of the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank districts of Nablus, Salfit and Bethlehem.
The most devastating attack occurred on the morning of 16 October when more than 30 masked armed settlers charged at Palestinian farmers and foreign volunteers in Burin, attacking three internationals and seriously injuring one, including 80-year-old Rabbi Moshe Yehuda from the Rabbis for Human Rights organization.
Palestinians look forward to the annual olive harvest season, which is a major income source for thousands of Palestinian families in the West Bank.
In addition to stealing olive harvest from farmers, many areas planted with olive trees are closed to farmers due to their proximity to Jewish settlements or fall behind the Israeli apartheid wall.
Extremist Israeli settlers’ violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
Settlers‘ violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.
Over 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.
K.T./ K.F.
