Settlers attack olive pickers in the West Bank — BBC News
In the occupied West Bank, dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives near the village of Abu Falah. The attackers set cars and olive trees on fire. According to a local official, 12 Palestinians were injured, including four people with dual Palestinian-American citizenship, BBC News reports.
Injured farmers and journalist
A BBC film crew witnessed one of the attacks. Yasser Al-Kam, a resident of the neighboring village of Turmus Ayya, said that settlers beat US citizen Majdi Fheid with clubs fitted with nails, leaving him with deep head wounds. His elderly mother was also injured.
Another man who was taking the injured people to hospital said settlers beat farmers with clubs and burned three cars, including his own. The US State Department said it was aware of the reports, condemned criminal violence by any party in the West Bank, and called for the incident to be investigated, those responsible to be detained and held accountable.
American journalist Heidi Levine of The Washington Post was also injured during the attack. She said dozens of settlers surrounded her while she was working, knocked her to the ground and kicked her. The newspaper’s executive editor, Matt Murray, said Levine could clearly be identified as a journalist and called for a thorough investigation.
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Clash in an olive grove
Farmers from three villages were harvesting together in an attempt to protect themselves from attacks. Landowner Amin Khalil said his plot is surrounded by seven Israeli settlements and outposts. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law; outposts are also illegal under Israeli law, although many receive state support.
When dozens of settlers began descending toward the field, they set several groups of olive trees on fire. Settlers threw stones with slingshots, while Palestinian young people threw stones in response. After Israeli forces arrived, the farmers began to retreat. Israeli forces later used tear gas. Live gunfire was also heard in the fields, but it was unclear who was shooting — settlers or Israeli forces.
According to the UN, more violent settler attacks have been recorded over the past two weeks than during the entire olive harvest season last year. Since the beginning of the year, such attacks have killed one Palestinian and injured more than 120 people in the West Bank.
