Israeli settlers attack farmers in a West Bank village

Monday October 20, 2008 17:01 by IMEMC Staff - IMEMC & Agencies

A number of armed Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers on Monday in the West Bank village of Kufer Qadoum near Qalqilia city.

A Palestinian olive tree in the West Bank

Local agricultural activist, Khaled Burhom, confirmed that the Israeli settlers attacked the farmers earlier on Monday, smashing windows of a car owned by local Emad Jom'a and prevented the Nemer family access to their farm land.

Also, the settlers attacked a British peace activist in the area, as the Israeli military were present heavily in the scene, Burhom added.

Media reports said that the armed Israeli settlers attacks on Palestinian farmers have been recently escalated as farmers in Palestine harvest olive trees, one of the major sources of income for Palestinians.

The Farmers Union in the West Bank condemned on Monday such repeated attacks on farmers, calling for protection to ordinary farmers working in their farm lands to earn a living.

Most of the West Bank areas are surrounded with more than 144 Israeli settlements, which international law considers "illegal."

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