NABLUS November 11, 2024 (WAFA) - Israeli soldiers Monday evening attacked Palestinian olive harvesters in the villages of Tell and Madama in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank, according to security sources.

Sources told WAFA that Israeli forces stormed the villages of Tell and Madama, beat up four olive pickers, prevented them from harvesting their olive crops and forced them to leave their land.

The annual olive harvest in the West Bank is a key element of the Palestinian economy and a crucial source of income for tens of thousands of families.

In 2023, while the war in the Gaza Strip was underway, Israeli restrictions on Palestinians’ ability to carry out the harvest reached new heights, leaving about 50% of Palestinian farmers unable to harvest their trees, according to estimates of the Palestinian Farmers’ Union.

According to the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in Occupied Territories, B’Tselem: ‘”The main official measure Israel uses is the “coordination” system, conceived as the military’s response to settler violence against Palestinian harvesters. Instead of dealing directly with assaults by settlers, the military places the onus on Palestinians, demanding they coordinate access to their land in advance – ostensibly so soldiers can be sent to protect them. In practice, this system limits the harvest or prevents it altogether. Harvesting all the olives takes weeks, but the military enables farmers access to their trees for several days only. This means they are unable to harvest the entire crop or prepare the land for winter crops. At the same time, this system does not stop settler violence. Soldiers often do not show up despite prior “coordination” with the military; when they do, they do not prevent or stop the violence, often even joining in.”

“For years, settler violence against Palestinians has peaked during the harvest season, yet Israeli authorities consistently refrain from taking preventive action as a matter of policy. This year, with the war in Gaza underway, the military has enlisted many settlers for regional operations in the West Bank. The settlers have used this power to block roads leading to Palestinian land and to set up roadblocks on agricultural roads, denying Palestinians access to olive groves near settlements,” said B’Tselem.

“Settler attacks on harvesters have increased in both intensity and frequency since the war began,” said the center.

T.R.