Clad in black and their faces masked, dozens of militant Israeli settlers burned olive trees and threw rocks at Palestinians in a co-ordinated attack yesterday on a village’s harvest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that injured at least two people, including a journalist.
Some 80 settlers, some of them carrying gas canisters, descended from a hill above a terraced olive grove where villagers from Abu Falah had gathered to pick ripe fruit, a cherished annual tradition in Palestinian life, Reuters witnesses said.
The settlers took positions in front of the terraced lanes of olive trees.
Some of them used slings to launch rocks towards Palestinian villagers, who descended towards the bottom of the hill before picking up and throwing stones to defend themselves.
“The settlers want to attack us and force us from our homes,” said Moutaz Abdelhadi, 42, a farmer who witnessed the attack in Abu Falah.
Partway through the attack, at least two Israeli military jeeps sped through the area, kicking up dust as villagers ran out of their way.
The attack continued after the military’s arrival, with Israeli soldiers firing tear gas in the direction of the Palestinians who had dodged the jeeps.
The sound of live gunfire could be heard in the area, and a Reuters photographer saw at least one armed settler fire a gun.
&uuid=(email))