Palestinian Farmers Report Settler Attacks on Crops in Occupied West Bank

Palestinian farmers in villages across the occupied West Bank are complaining of settler attacks on their crops, amid warnings that this year’s olive harvest will bring greater hardship than previous seasons.

The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission says escalating settler attacks, which it alleges take place under the protection of the Israeli army, are threatening farmers’ ability to harvest their olives.

The commission warns that farmers are being denied safe access to their land, preventing them from reaching olive trees during the picking season.

Those restrictions and attacks threaten the loss of large quantities of the olive crop, according to the commission. Its warning links the worsening conditions facing growers directly to their ability to reach their groves and bring in the harvest.