Israeli settlers attack olive harvesters near Tulkarem

Sunday October 05, 2008 23:24 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

As the olive harvest season begins in full swing, Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians harvesting their olives are on the rise as well. After the attack two days ago in Hebron, another series of attacks has been reported in the Tulkarem area, in the northern part of the West Bank.

Israeli settlers scuffle with olive harvesters

The latest attacks were centered in two areas: Ar-Ras village in southern Tulkarem, and Kafr Qaddum, also south of Tulkarem. Other incidents of settler violence have been reported in Nil'in, near Ramallah.

In the attacks near Tulkarem, over the last three days Israeli settlers have fired guns at Palestinian olive harvesters, tried to steal the olive harvest from Palestinian farmers, and prevented Palestinian farmers from reaching their lands. In Ar-Ras, a family of olive harvesters were forced off their tractors at gunpoint by Israeli settlers, who were supported by Israeli soldiers, and forced to carry their entire olive harvest by foot across their land, abandoning their tractors.

In recent weeks, according to the head of the Ar-Ras village council Eid Yasseen, Israeli authorities have set fire to large areas of Palestinian olive groves and agricultural fields.

The areas where attacks are taking place are near Israeli settlements that have been established in recent years in Palestinian ancestral land in direct violation of international law and signed agreements. The settlers want to expand their developments and with the help of the Israeli army continue to destroy Palestinian land near the settlements in order to push Palestinians out and continue their expansion. The Palestinians, with no military force and no legal recourse, are powerless to stop the settlers' policy of 'might makes right'.

In Nil'in village, Israeli activists from Rabbis for Human Rights, who were accompanying Palestinians in the olive harvest, were attacked by Israeli settlers trying to prevent the olive harvest from taking place.

Finally, in Kafr Qaddum south of Tulkarem, eyewitnesses reported seeing Israeli settlers, accompanied by soldiers, beating Palestinian olive harvesters and driving them back, out of their lands, thus preventing them from accessing their olive groves to harvest their olives. The settlers were identified as coming from the Qedumim settlement, which is located one kilometer east of the city.

tulkarem | israeli settlement | news report saed at imemc dot org