West Bank.. 12 incidents of settler and army terrorism against olive farmers

The Commission said in a statement that the incidents were recorded between 6:00 AM (03:00 GMT) and 6:00 PM (15:00 GMT) on Wednesday, during the olive harvest season.

They were distributed across the governorates of Ramallah and Al-Bireh (center), Hebron (south), Nablus, Salfit, and Jenin (north), amid escalating settler terrorism and Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank.

In the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, the Commission reported that settlers attacked olive pickers in the town of Kafr Malik, northeast of the city.

It explained that they infiltrated citizens' lands, pursued the farmers, and released their livestock to graze on the agricultural lands.

In the village of Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi, northwest of Ramallah, settlers expelled olive pickers and foreign activists from their lands.

The settlers detained 14 foreign activists and their phones before calling the Israeli police, who arrested them all, according to the Commission's field report.

In Nablus governorate, settlers stormed agricultural lands in the Jabal Al-Arma area in the town of Beita and prevented residents from reaching them.

In the Jara'a area of the town of Jama'in, settlers attacked farmers while they were on their lands.

They assaulted one of the farmers and his family members, which led to him sustaining a direct blow to the head.

A number of farmers were also injured due to beatings and the spraying of pepper spray and tear gas at them, according to the Commission.

In Hebron governorate, settlers stole the olive harvest from trees belonging to Palestinian Ahmed Aksh Al-Harini in the Al-Rahniya area, south of Yatta.

The Commission added that the settlers broke trees and caused damage to them.

In Salfit governorate, settlers stole olive fruits from citizens' lands in the Wadi Al-Ahmar area between the towns of Marda and Yasuf.

According to the report, the settlers fired live ammunition at one of the farmers after he was surprised by their presence while they were stealing the crop.

In Jenin governorate, Israeli army forces continued to bulldoze agricultural lands between the villages of Tura and Umm Dar, northwest of the governorate.

The Commission considered these actions to be in the context of targeting agricultural lands and the foundations for investing in them.

It stated that the escalating "assaults" during the olive harvest season reflect a system of military and settler violence aimed at depriving Palestinian farmers of access to their lands and benefiting from their production.

It warned that firing live ammunition, bulldozing lands, and vandalizing trees increases the level of direct threat to farmers and foreign activists.

It added that these practices cause economic and environmental damage that may last for years, and threaten to turn temporary deprivation of land into permanent exclusion and long-term isolation from it.

Since the start of the Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the Israeli army has escalated its operations in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, coinciding with the rise of settler terrorism.

These assaults have resulted in the killing of more than 1,220 Palestinians and the injury of about 13,350 others, in addition to the arrest of more than 26,000, according to Palestinian data.