DaysofPal- More than 150 attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers have been recorded across the occupied West Bank during the ongoing olive harvest season, leaving Palestinian farmers increasingly vulnerable during one of the most important times of the year.
According to Palestinian media, at least three people were injured on Saturday when settlers assaulted farmers in the village of Deir Nidham, northwest of Ramallah.
Local activist Mujahid Tamimi told Wafa news agency that the attackers beat farmers with rifle butts and forced them from their fields.
Shortly afterward, Israeli forces entered the village to protect the settlers and arrested 31-year-old Motasem Abdullah Tamimi.
This latest violence comes amid a broader surge in Israeli military and settler assaults since the Israeli occupation launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 10,000 wounded across the West Bank since then, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh reported that settler assaults often occur with the support or protection of Israeli soldiers, many of whom directly take part.
She noted that human rights groups accuse the Israeli forces of complicity, as settlers “are armed, dangerous, and emboldened” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government.
The objective, Odeh added, is to make Palestinian life “untenable and unsafe,” pushing them to abandon their land.
Olive cultivation is a vital source of income and identity for Palestinians, supporting between 80,000 and 100,000 families.
Yet, this year’s harvest has been marred by unprecedented violence.
The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission has documented 158 attacks since the season began, 141 by settlers and 17 by Israeli forces. Human rights organizations say settlers enjoy near-total impunity.
In separate incidents, settlers sprayed pepper gas at farmers in Kafr Malek, near Ramallah, while Israeli soldiers and settlers beat 65-year-old Ahmad Shakarna and his family as they harvested olives in Nahalin, near Bethlehem.
In Beit Awwa, southwest of Hebron, Israeli forces fired tear gas and sound grenades to drive farmers away from their fields. Meanwhile, in Aqraba and Qabalan, south of Nablus, armed settlers with attack dogs assaulted farmers and confiscated their tools, injuring three people.
Currently, more than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in over 250 settlements and outposts across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, settlements deemed illegal under international law.
The UN reports that settlers have carried out more than 2,400 attacks on Palestinian property over the past two years, displacing at least 3,000 people.
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