More Hoodlum Settler Attacks on Palestinian Olive Farmers, Helpers

The three Palestinian Arabic dailies focused in yesterday’s Sunday issue on a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank, against vulnerable Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest season.

The reports said that three farmers sustained various injuries on Saturday, October 19, when settlers attacked them while they were harvesting olives in the village of Burin, south of Nablus in the West Bank. The newspapers also wrote about settler attacks against Palestinian farmers and international volunteers while harvesting olives in the village of al-Jaba’a, to the south of Bethlehem.

80-year-old Israeli peace activist Rabbi Moshe Yehudai, being treated by a Palestinian ambulance crewwas after being assaulted by a group of masked Jewish settlers in the Palestinian village of Burin in the northern West Bank, October 16, 2019

80-year-old Israeli peace activist Rabbi Moshe Yehudai, being treated by a Palestinian ambulance crew after being assaulted by a group of masked Jewish settlers in the Palestinian village of Burin in the northern West Bank, October 16, 2019 (Photo: Rabbis for Human Rights)

Last Wednesday, October 16, masked men from the settlement of Yitzhar wielding metal rods and stones attacked volunteers from Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), a human rights organization based in Israel, while they were picking olives alongside Palestinian farmers in Burin. According to a spokesperson for the organization, settlers set fire to the olive groves, causing a blaze that spread rapidly and burned for hours.

“They used metal rods and stones, and several volunteers were injured,” RHR reported. “One of the volunteers, Rabbi Moshe Yehudai, an RHR board member, was injured in his head and limbs, and was treated in hospital for minor wounds. We call on the law enforcement agencies to roll up their sleeves and bring these violent criminals to justice. This is an almost daily reality in the Occupied Territories, it is the reality of the occupation, and it is time for it to stop.”

Related: Settlers Assault Palestinians, Israeli Peace Activists; Burn and Vandalize