Burning trees and beating farmers: Israeli settlers wreak havoc on another olive harvest
Israeli settlers attack farmers in the Nablus area village of Burin, October 2019
Yumna Patel writes in Mondoweiss:
Every year, without fail, Palestinians mark the beginning of autumn with the olive harvest. A sacred cultural event, families from across the country leave their towns and cities and head for their olive groves, passed down to them from the generations before.
And every year, without fail, much of the harvest is characterized by attacks on Palestinian farmers and families by Israeli settlers and armed soldiers. This year is no different.
Since the harvest began in early October, several incidents of settler attacks on farmers and their crops have been reported by activists and organizations in the occupied West Bank.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported more than 10 settler attacks directly related to the olive harvest in the first two weeks of the month.
According to the agency, settlers physically assaulted and injured three Palestinian farmers in the Nablus area villages of Tell and Jit and the Bethlehem-area village of al-Jab’a.
More than 100 olive trees were set on fire and more than seven incidents of produce theft were reported in the villages of Burin (Nablus) and Kifr al-Dik (Salfit).