Five Italian activists held in West Bank have been repatriated, ministry says

MILAN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Five Italian activists who were detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank ​this week were released and repatriated ‌on Saturday morning, Italy's foreign ministry said. The women were detained on Thursday by Israeli police in Kiryat ​Arba along with other international activists, while ​seeking to protect Palestinian farmers during the olive ⁠harvest in the Israel-occupied territory. Sign up here. Officials from the ​Italian embassy in Tel Aviv visited them at the ​airport on Friday evening and said the activists appeared to be in good physical condition. Settlers have intimidated Palestinians harvesting ​their olives in the occupied West Bank ​for decades, but violence has increased sharply this year, according ‌to ⁠Palestinians, activists and the UN. Israeli rights group Yesh Din said it had recorded more than 330 incidents of settler violence linked to this ​year's olive ​harvest, which ⁠started in late September, including attacks, theft and damage to trees. Israeli ​security services have said they take acts of ​violence ⁠and criminal activity very seriously. Olives are the backbone of Palestinian agriculture, a sector that accounts ⁠for ​around 8% of GDP and ​more than 60,000 jobs, according to the Palestinian Authority's agriculture ​ministry. Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro; Editing by Andrew Heavens Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Suggested Topics: Middle East X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights