Palestinian journalist, foreign activist injured in Israeli occupier attack in occupied West Bank

A Palestinian journalist and a foreign solidarity activist were injured Tuesday when Israeli occupiers attacked olive harvesters south of Nablus in the northern West Bank. Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi told Anadolu that Israeli occupiers attacked olive pickers and foreign activists on land between the towns of Qusra and Jalud. The attack injured European Pressphoto Agency photojournalist Alaa Badarneh and a foreign activist, while several vehicles were also damaged, Wadi said.

Qusra has lost land to Israeli occupiers and experienced an especially difficult olive harvest season this year because of repeated attacks, he added. Residents were able to harvest only about 33% of the olive trees on their land, he said. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams provided field treatment to Badarneh after he sustained a hand injury from beatings and stone-throwing by Israeli occupiers. The attack comes amid an escalation in attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.

The attacks have included killings, arrests, demolition of homes and structures, burning of mosques and vehicles, bulldozing of agricultural land, blocking farmers from reaching their land, displacement of Palestinian communities and illegal settlement expansion. More than 1,220 Palestinians have been killed and around 13,746 injured in the occupied West Bank during that period, while more than 26,000 have been detained, according to Palestinian figures. ​​​​​​​Palestinians warn that continued settlement expansion and attacks are paving the way for Israel’s formal annexation of the occupied West Bank, undermining prospects for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in line with relevant UN resolutions.