NABLUS, October 17, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Saturday prevented Palestinian farmers from picking their olive trees in the village of Burin to the south of Nablus.

Witnesses informed WAFA that forces chased farmers – who attempted to pick their olive harvest - out of their land situated adjacent to Israeli settlements built illegally on Palestinian-owned land in the area, under the pretext that the area is a ‘closed military zone’.

Settlers have stepped up their violent attacks against Palestinians and their properties, following the killing of four Israelis at the hands of alleged Palestinian suspects.

Clashes have been witnessed across the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and Gaza, as well as in Arab communities inside the occupied 1948 land, against the backdrop of Israel’s repeated assaults against al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. Israel has been enforcing a temporal division on the compound, the third holiest place in Islam, which ignited strong feelings of anger among Palestinians.

Settlements are illegal under international law as they violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of the occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory.

Settlers protected by soldiers regularly attack Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest season, considered one of the most important sources of income for the Palestinian people.

T.R.