Attack during the olive harvest
Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to cars and trees, according to people at the scene and a local official. The violence took place in farmland near the Palestinian village of Abu Falah. A council member from a neighbouring village said the attacks left 12 Palestinians injured, among them four dual Palestinian-American citizens. A foreign journalist was also hurt.
Early in the morning, cars carrying wounded farmers left the area along a narrow track while smoke rose from fires nearby. Majdi Fheed, an American citizen, was seen with a bloodied face. He said about 15 attackers struck while people were tending olive trees, using guns, rocks and other weapons, and that he was hit on the head and neck.
What witnesses described
Yaser AlKam, a council member from Turmus Aya, said Majdi was beaten with nail-studded sticks and needed treatment for deep head wounds, and that his elderly mother was also injured. A man taking the wounded to hospital said settlers attacked harvesters with sticks and burned three cars, including his own. A woman with him said the group fled as soon as the attackers approached after they put their equipment on the ground.
In a related incident nearby, about a dozen settlers in black charged down a hill from an outpost — illegal under international law — toward a field where Palestinians and activists were picking olives. They set fire to about a dozen trees and threw stones from slingshots. Photographer Heidi Levine, who was at the scene, was taken to hospital; she said she “got jumped” and described being kicked while on the ground.
Harvest under threat
The United Nations (UN), the world body that tracks conflict trends, said the past two weeks have already seen more attacks by violent Israeli settlers than during the entire harvest season last year, and that settler violence this year has reached an all-time high. Farmers have been racing to strip trees at sunrise. In another orchard, dozens worked with power tools while settlers watched from a ridge at a new illegal outpost. Landowner Amin Khalil said three villages joined the pick as protection.
Imm Khaldoun, 73, said she would keep returning to her land. “This is my land. It’s my right [to be here],” she said.
Asked about the violence, a US State Department spokesperson said Washington was aware of the reports, condemned criminal violence by any party in the West Bank, and called for investigations, arrests and convictions of those responsible.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- This year’s olive harvest: The UN says settler violence has reached an all-time high.
- Past two weeks: The UN says attacks by violent Israeli settlers already exceed the entire harvest season last year.
- Morning of the Abu Falah attack: Masked settlers struck farmland near Abu Falah; a local official said 12 Palestinians were injured and cars and trees were burned.
- Same period, nearby orchard: About a dozen settlers in black charged from an illegal outpost, torched about a dozen trees and threw stones; photographer Heidi Levine was hospitalised.
Aasan alfaaz mein
West Bank mein olive torte waqt Israeli settlers ne Palestinians par hamla kiya. Abu Falah ke paas 12 log zakhmi hue, jin mein kuch American citizenship walay bhi thay. Gaariyan aur olive ke darakht jala diye gaye. Yeh fasal ab bohot khatre mein hai, is liye log jaldi kaam kar rahe hain.
