By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers carried out 40 attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters, shooting farmers, stealing crops and destroying trees.

Key Takeaways

• The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission documented 40 attacks between 6 am and 6 pm Saturday across the occupied West Bank.
• Palestinians suffered gunshot wounds, beatings and tear gas inhalation, while Israeli occupation forces arrested five people during the harvest.
• Attacks included crop theft, the seizure of agricultural equipment, the destruction of olive trees and an assault on European diplomatic vehicles.

Farmers Shot and Arrested

Israeli occupation forces and illegal Israeli Jewish settlers carried out 40 attacks against Palestinian farmers, their lands and crops during a 12-hour period on Saturday, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.

The commission documented the incidents between 6 am and 6 pm across the governorates of Nablus, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, Salfit, Jenin, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron (Al-Khalil).

The attacks included shooting, beatings, arrests, expulsions from agricultural land, theft of crops and equipment, and damage to trees.

Live ammunition injuries were recorded in Aqrabah, south of Nablus, and the Ma’in area of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. Palestinians in Ma’in also suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Two farmers were assaulted in Deir Dibwan, while two young men were injured in Shabtin. The commission also reported tear gas inhalation cases in Salem and injuries, bruising and fainting as farmers were pursued in Beit Furik.

Israeli occupation forces arrested five people during the harvest: three in Shabtin, one near Jaba’ and another in Battir.

‘They Killed Him in Front of Us’: A Bloody Olive Harvest in the West Bank

Gunfire, Land Destruction and Diplomatic Vehicles Attacked

In Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, illegal settlers attacked olive pickers in Deir Jarir and opened fire to force them off their land, the commission reported.

Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas in Abu Falah and opened fire toward farmers in Deir Ammar.

Further attacks affected Burqa, Rantis and Silwad, including restrictions preventing farmers from reaching their agricultural land.

Land was bulldozed and olive trees uprooted near Ein Samia in Kafr Malik, while a farmer’s vehicle was seized in Turmus Ayya.

In Taybeh, masked illegal settlers used sticks to attack vehicles belonging to a European diplomatic mission, according to the commission.

Crops and Tractors Stolen

Across Nablus governorate, farmers were expelled from their lands, while olive crops and agricultural equipment were stolen in Burin, Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya, Yatma, Beit Imrin, Beit Dajan and Duma.

Illegal settlers also cut down dozens of olive trees in the Beit Furik plain.

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In the area between Jamma’in, Marda and Yasuf, illegal settlers attacked farmers and stole two agricultural tractors and olive-harvesting equipment. The commission also reported gunfire and tear gas as farmers were forced to leave their lands.

Additional attacks were documented in Wadi al-Sha’ir and Wadi al-Shalal in Salfit, Beit Anan in Jerusalem governorate, and Barta’a in Jenin governorate.

The commission warned that attacks on trees, crops, equipment and access roads threaten Palestinian livelihoods alongside the direct violence against farmers.

It called for protection for olive harvesters, guaranteed access to agricultural land and accountability for those responsible for the attacks.

(PC, QNN)