Israeli Forces Attack Palestinian Olive Harvesters in Nablus.

NABLUS: Israeli soldiers Monday evening attacked Palestinian olive harvesters in the villages of Tell and Madama in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank, according to security sources. Sources told WAFA that Israeli forces stormed the villages, beat up four olive pickers, prevented them from harvesting their olive crops, and forced them to leave their land. According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the annual olive harvest in the West Bank is a key element of the Palestinian economy, providing a crucial source of income for tens of thousands of families. In 2023, amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli restrictions on Palestinians' ability to conduct the harvest reached unprecedented levels, leaving about 50% of Palestinian farmers unable to harvest their trees, as estimated by the Palestinian Farmers' Union. According to the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, the main official measure employed by Israel is the 'coordination' s ystem, which is intended as a military response to settler violence against Palestinian harvesters. However, instead of addressing the assaults directly, the military places the responsibility on Palestinians, requiring them to coordinate access to their land in advance, supposedly to allow soldiers to protect them. In practice, this system restricts or entirely prevents the harvest. Soldiers often do not appear despite prior coordination, and when they do, they frequently do not intervene in or stop the violence, occasionally even participating in it. B'Tselem further reported that settler violence against Palestinians typically peaks during the harvest season, yet Israeli authorities consistently avoid taking preventive actions as a matter of policy. With the war in Gaza ongoing, the military has recruited many settlers for regional operations in the West Bank, enabling them to block roads leading to Palestinian land and set up roadblocks on agricultural roads, restricting Palestinian access to olive grove s near settlements. The center noted that settler attacks on harvesters have increased in both intensity and frequency since the war began.