1,070 Palestinian trees vandalised since start of olive harvest season

At least 1,073 Palestinian-owned trees have been vandalised since the beginning of this year’s olive harvest season in October, according to UN OCHA in an update dated 9 November.

The figure is included in an account of recent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.

Over the two-week-period 24 October to 6 November, “eight incidents of intimidation and theft of produce by Israeli settlers were reported in the context of the ongoing olive harvest”, says UN OCHA.

“Seven of these incidents took place in areas in the vicinity of settlements, where Palestinian access is subject to ‘prior coordination’ with the Israeli authorities.”

According to the UN agency, “the affected communities included Deir Al-Hatab, As Sawiya, Deir Sharaf and Huwwara (Nablus); At Tuwani (Hebron); Sinjil (Ramallah); and Al-Jaba’a (Bethlehem).”

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In addition, two Palestinians were injured and an irrigation network was vandalised by Israeli settlers, in the context of “two incidents involving physical assault in the Old City of Jerusalem, and near Ein al Beida community in the northern Jordan Valley”.

The report continued: “In an additional incident in the latter area, a group of Israeli settlers dismantled around 1,000 metres of water pipes from an irrigation network, and throw them in a trench near the border with Jordan, according to Palestinian eye witnesses.”

“The pipes were installed as part of a donor-funded humanitarian project to support farmers in the area, who regained access to their private land, following an Israeli High Court ruling.”