Israeli forces arrest five in latest West Bank raids: Report
Israeli forces have carried out more early-morning raids in the occupied West Bank.
During the incursions, they rounded up and arrested five people in Hebron and shot and injured a Palestinian in ar-Ram, near Jerusalem, according to the Wafa news agency.
Israeli forces also raided several homes in Nablus without carrying out any arrests, reported Wafa.
Israeli settlers hack down dozens of Palestinian olive trees: Report
A group of Israeli settlers have cut down dozens of olive trees in the Palestinian village of al-Maniya, near Bethlehem – the latest in a series of near-daily settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, reports the Wafa news agency.
Since the start of this year’s olive harvest season, Israeli settlers have carried out at least 141 attacks on Palestinian olive farmers, including 22 cases of direct assaults on farmers, according to the Ramallah-based Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.
A Palestinian man looks at olive trees which he says were damaged by settlers, in Abu Falah near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, October 6
Israeli settlers attack farmers in occupied West Bank
The settlers have attacked the farmers in the Turmus Aya and Mughayer areas near Ramallah in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Wafa news agency reports.
Attacks against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank have increased in recent weeks amid the ongoing olive harvest season.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee (WSRC), a Palestinian Authority-backed monitor that tracks settler violence, has reported 158 attacks against people picking olives during this olive harvest season, which began in October.
Seventeen of the attacks it tracked were carried out by the Israeli army, and 141 by Israeli settlers.
Israeli settlers attack more Palestinians as olive harvest violence surges
Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank as a wave of violence targeting residents harvesting their olive trees intensifies.
Harvesting olive trees is a key economic activity for many Palestinians, and it holds significant cultural importance in Palestinian society. Between 80,000 and 100,000 families rely on olives and olive oil as their primary or secondary source of income.
The attacks come as Palestinians across the West Bank have experienced a surge in Israeli military and settler violence in the shadow of Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which began in October 2023.
Since then, Israeli settler and military attacks have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 10,000 others, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
