Foreign activist injured by Israeli forces while harvesting olives in West Bank

ANKARA

A foreign activist of unspecified nationality was injured Friday after being assaulted by Israeli forces while volunteering to pick olives alongside Palestinian farmers in the village of Susiya, located in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, according to local reports.

The activist was beaten with batons by Israeli soldiers as she assisted Palestinians in harvesting olives near the illegal Israeli settlement of Susiya, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Despite the assault, the activist refused treatment from Israeli medical services, opting instead for care from the Palestinian Red Crescent, which transported her to Abu Al-Hussein Al-Qassem Hospital in Yatta for medical attention.

In a separate incident on Friday, illegal Israeli 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 added that villagers gathered to confront the settlers, resulting in clashes. Several farmers suffered from tear gas inhalation during the confrontation.

The rise in violence comes as UN spokesperson Farhan Haq warned on Thursday 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.

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.

At least 756 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,250 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi