Palestinian farmers harvesting their olive crops in West Bank. (Photo: via WAFA)
The attack is the latest in an upsurge of settler violence in the occupied territory, including an increase in assaults on families trying to harvest their olive crops.
Two Palestinians have been injured after scores of armed illegal Jewish settlers stormed the village of Jalud in Nablus on the West Bank attacking residents and setting fire to at least three properties and a poultry farm.
The injured Palestinians sustained injuries to their faces and heads after being assaulted by the settlers on Saturday, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing the Palestine Red Crescent.
Israeli 🇮🇱 extremist illegal settlers lit houses, cars on fire in a village in the occupied West Bank, Palestine 🇵🇸
Several settlers threw rocks and set houses and cars on fire in the West Bank village of Jalud
The settlers stole local horses and that the military is operating… pic.twitter.com/lL1rwjphkB
— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) October 19, 2024
Raed Haj Mohammed, head of the Jalud village council, said the settlers targeted the eastern side of the village, setting fire to three homes, a poultry farm, and surrounding agricultural land.
Haj Mohammed said the settlers prevented the owners of the houses, who were harvesting olives in the area, from reaching their homes. They also threw rocks and stones at homes, damaging properties.
The attack is the latest in an upsurge of settler violence in the occupied territory, including an increase in assaults on families trying to harvest their olive crops. These attacks often occur under the protection of Israeli forces.
Olive Picking Targeted
On Friday, Israeli forces shot and killed a 59-year-old Palestinian woman as she harvested olives with her family in the village of Faqqu’a, east of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.
Hanan Abu Salameh was shot in the back on Thursday and attempts to resuscitate her failed, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, cited by the Middle East Monitor (MEMO).
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said in a statement that Israeli forces “fired multiple shots” at the harvesters “without prior warning” near the Separation Wall in the occupied territory.
Also on Friday, a foreign activist was assaulted by a masked Israeli settler. As Israeli forces stood by, the settler wielded a wooden club at the activist, hitting her in the ribs.
The OHCHR said picking olives for the annual harvest was becoming “an increasingly risky activity.”
During the first week of the official Palestinian olive harvest season, the UN Human Rights Office recorded dozens of incidents of violence against Palestinian harvesters and disruption of access to olive groves.
Endangering Livelihoods
On Thursday UN spokesperson Farhan Haq warned that increasing attacks by illegal settlers during the olive harvest are endangering the security and livelihoods of Palestinians in the region.
The number of #Palestinians killed in the #WestBank since 7 Oct 2023 rises to more than 700.
This month, Israeli settlers sawed off, burnt or otherwise vandalized ~600 mainly olive trees and saplings in ~15 communities.
Read more: https://t.co/fPMxhRljBg pic.twitter.com/RANpwpTdJk
— OCHA OPT (Palestine) (@ochaopt) October 17, 2024
Haq noted that since the beginning of October, 32 illegal settler attacks have been documented, leading to 39 Palestinian injuries and the destruction or theft of approximately 600 olive trees.
UN Experts have warned that Palestinian farmers in the West Bank are facing “the most dangerous olive season ever.”
“The olive harvest is central to Palestinian life and culture. The Palestinian people’s relationship to olive trees, which can live for hundreds of years, is also about their relationship to their ancestors and to their future,” the experts said in a statement.
“Restricting olive harvests, destroying orchards and banning access to water sources is an attempt by Israel to expand its illegal settlements,” they added.
Over 16,000 Attacks
According to WAFA, Israeli forces and settlers have carried out a total of 16,663 assaults, resulting in the murder of 19 Palestinians at the hands of settlers, since October last year.
Today, during Shabbat, settlers carried out a violent pogrom in Jaloud.
Tomorrow, we will be in Jaloud to help them harvest their olives.
This is the only Jewish response to settler terrorism. pic.twitter.com/42hoXyOPZk
— Rabbis for Human Rights (@rabbis4HR) October 19, 2024
In addition, they have caused fires on 275 Palestinian properties and fields, with Nablus witnessing 120 incidents, followed by Ramallah with 42 and Jenin with 26, WAFA said, citing the PLO’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
On Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, has risen to 759 since the outbreak of Israeli aggression on October 7, 2023.
In a statement, the Ministry noted that among the victims were 165 children and 18 women, in addition to more than 6,500 recorded injuries during the same period.
(PC, WAFA)
