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West Bankupdated 3h ago3 min read

Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Olive Harvesters Across Occupied West Bank, Injuring Several

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Masked Israeli settlers attacked olive harvesters across multiple West Bank villages; several injured. Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine beaten, hospitalized amid Abu Falah attack.

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Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Olive Harvesters Across Occupied West Bank, Injuring Several
Image: فلسطين أون لاين
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Olive harvest violence

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive harvesters and farmers across the occupied West Bank on Friday, injuring several Palestinians and attempting to burn homes, setting vehicles on fire, and forcing farmers from their land. In Nablus, colonizers attacked farmers harvesting olives in the eastern part of Burin town and olive harvesters on land belonging to Majdal Bani Fadel, south of the city, and they expelled farmers harvesting olives from the Wadi Ash-Shami area of Asira Al-Qibliya. In Ramallah, colonizers attacked Palestinian olive harvesters in Turmus Ayya, Abu Falah and Burqa, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its crews treated two Palestinians beaten during the attack in Abu Falah, east of Ramallah.

In Turmus Ayya, local sources said colonizers assaulted farmers in the An-Nab’at area, injuring several people, and set fire to three vehicles, including a vehicle belonging to Palestinian Civil Defense volunteers that was destroyed in the attack. In Hebron, groups of paramilitary colonizers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, attacked Palestinian homes in the Wadi Ash-Sheikh area of Beit Ummar, and local activist Mohammad Awad stated that the colonizers fired live rounds and attempted to set several homes on fire.

Image from ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Image: ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Heidi Levine attacked

Israeli settlers attacked Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine during the yearly olive harvest near the village of Abu Falah north of Ramallah, and Levine said she saw "at least 50 masked men" on the hilltop. Levine told journalists in hospital, "I had a 500 millimetre lens that you could see the mask with slingshots," and she said the attackers ran down and she was attacked, pushed to the ground, and kicked repeatedly.

The Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray said the paper was "outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job" and urged a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities. The Israeli Defense Force said it would examine "all circumstances surrounding the incident" and stated that, upon arriving, forces acted to disperse the confrontation using riot dispersal means.

Image from Akhir Khabr
Image: Akhir Khabr
Reporting for this sectionABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Injuries, arrests, and scrutiny

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams in Ramallah treated a 63-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man injured during the attack in Abu Falah, and the two were transported to the hospital. The Palestinian Civil Defense said one of its members was injured with bruises when Israeli settlers attacked a rescue crew responding to a fire that broke out in three Palestinian vehicles in Turmusayya, and the settlers assaulted the crew after they arrived to extinguish the fire. Al Jazeera reported that approximately 80 masked settlers armed with clubs charged at Palestinians in Abu Falah as they picked fruit, and the report said soldiers fired tear gas in their direction.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its crews treated four Palestinians injured when colonizers attacked the town of Burqa, east of Ramallah, and the report also said a foreign journalist was injured. The United Nations said the number of attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians working in olive harvesting in the occupied West Bank had already surpassed last year’s figures, and Farhan Haq said OCHA documented settler attacks affecting the olive harvest season and that it had "already exceeded last year’s numbers."

Reporting for this sectionAkhir KhabrAlaa 21