‘Most Dangerous Olive Season’ – Palestinian Woman Killed, Foreign Activist Beaten as Settler Attacks Escalate

October 18, 2024 Blog, News
Hanan Abu Salameh was killed by Israeli forces as she harvested olives with her family. (Photo: via social media)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

UN Experts have warned that Palestinian farmers in the West Bank are facing “the most dangerous olive season ever.”

Israeli forces have shot and killed a 59-year-old Palestinian woman as she harvested olives with her family in the village of Faqqu’a, east of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

Hanan Abu Salameh was shot in the back on Thursday and attempts to resuscitate her failed, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, cited by the Middle East Monitor (MEMO).

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said in a statement that Israeli forces “fired multiple shots” at the harvesters “without prior warning” near the Separation Wall in the occupied territory.

Foreign Activist Beaten

On Friday a foreign activist was assaulted by Israeli forces as she assisted Palestinian families in harvesting olives near the illegal Israeli settlement of Susiya, located in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron (Al Khalil), according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

A video posted by the Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, however, shows a woman being assaulted by a masked settler, as Israeli forces stood by. The settler wielded a wooden club at the activist, hitting her in the ribs.

Israeli forces who witnessed the attack, “didn’t detain him, but rather enabled him to return to one of the settlement outposts,” B’Tselem said on X.

Forced to Leave

In a separate incident on Friday, illegal Jewish settlers, backed by the Israeli army, attacked Palestinian farmers harvesting olives in the village of Yatma, in the Nablus region.

Ahmad Sanubar, the head of the Yatma village council, reported that more than 200 illegal settlers attacked the village from three directions, targeting farmers. The Israeli army fired tear gas at the farmers, forcing them to leave their fields.

Sanubar said the villagers gathered to confront the settlers, resulting in clashes. Several farmers suffered from tear gas inhalation during the confrontation.

On Thursday, Jewish settlers fired at Palestinian olive pickers in the town of Kafr Al-Labad, in Tulkarm.

Ayman Gharib, an anti-settlement activist, said Israeli forces arrived at the scene following the shooting and fired tear gas at the Palestinian farmers, causing several of them to suffer from suffocation, MEMO reported.

On Monday, four Palestinians were injured after settlers attacked olive pickers in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, cited by MEMO.

‘Increasingly Risky’

The OHCHR said picking olives for the annual harvest was becoming “an increasingly risky activity.”

During the first week of the official Palestinian olive harvest season, the UN Human Rights Office recorded dozens of incidents of violence against Palestinian harvesters and disruption of access to olive groves.

On Thursday UN spokesperson Farhan Haq warned that increasing attacks by illegal settlers during the olive harvest are endangering the security and livelihoods of Palestinians in the region.

Haq noted that since the beginning of October, 32 illegal settler attacks have been documented, leading to 39 Palestinian injuries and the destruction or theft of approximately 600 olive trees.

Olive Trees Cut Down

The OHCHR said that among other alarming incidents, on October 13, Palestinian landowners from Qusra, Nablus, found 115 of their olive trees cut down with a machine saw after resisting harassment and threats by settlers and Israeli forces to vacate their groves.

In “a horrific attack” on October 5, the UN office said, “a large group of settlers attacked with clubs and crowbars Palestinian families picking olives in their land in Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi, Ramallah, injuring 25 Palestinians,” resulting in broken ribs and head injuries.

Settlers stole the harvest and equipment, and caused other material damages, the OHCHR said, noting that “Israeli security forces were present but did not stop them.”

In several other instances, Israeli security forces requested Palestinians to leave their land under the threat of force without any apparent legal grounds to do so, said the Office.

‘Central to Palestinian Life’

UN Experts have warned that Palestinian farmers in the West Bank are facing “the most dangerous olive season ever.”

“The olive harvest is central to Palestinian life and culture. The Palestinian people’s relationship to olive trees, which can live for hundreds of years, is also about their relationship to their ancestors and to their future,” the experts said in a statement.

“Restricting olive harvests, destroying orchards and banning access to water sources is an attempt by Israel to expand its illegal settlements,” they added.

The experts urged Israeli forces to refrain from interfering with this year’s olive harvest, and concentrate their efforts on withdrawing the occupation and dismantling the colonies, as stated by the International Court of Justice on 19 July 2024 and reaffirmed by the General Assembly on 18 September 2024.

According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, there have been 2,777 illegal settler attacks in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza onslaught on Oct. 7, 2023. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of 19 Palestinians and displaced 292 families from 28 Bedouin communities.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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