Over 9,000 olive trees have been destroyed in the West Bank since August 2020, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

With the olive harvest season underway, the aid agency has called on Israel to ensure safe, timely, and adequate access for Palestinians to their olive groves in the occupied West Bank.

Yesterday, Israeli settlers likely from the outpost of Havat Ma’on broke into the garden in Atuwani and destroyed approximately seventy trees, from olive trees to fruit and vegetable trees. Some were trees planted through our olive tree project to protect vulnerable lands. pic.twitter.com/6XGdbyEl58

— Good Shepherd Collective (@Shepherds4Good) October 13, 2021

“For years, the ICRC has observed a seasonal peak in violence by Israeli settlers residing in certain settlements and outposts in the West Bank towards Palestinian farmers and their property in the period leading up to the olive harvest season, as well as during the harvest season itself, in October and November,” said Els Debuf, head of the ICRC’s mission in Jerusalem.

“Farmers also experience acts of harassment and violence that aim at preventing a successful harvest, not to mention the destruction of farming equipment or the uprooting and burning of olive trees. This is an important concern that we continue to share with the authorities in charge,” she added.

Settlers Uproot Dozens of Olive Trees in West Bank https://t.co/QYrk80yh1w

— Joe Catron (@jncatron) October 13, 2021

Meanwhile, extremist Jewish settlers on Tuesday uprooted 900 olive and apricot saplings and stole olive crops in the village of Sebastia of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. 

Jewish settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank, while occupation authorities rarely take action against it.

(MEMO, PC, Social Media)