Israeli settlers raid WB olive farms

Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian olive groves in the West Bank cities of Nablus and Qalqilya, looting part of the farmers’ harvest.

A Palestinian official in charge of the Israeli settlement file in northern West Bank said tens of Israelis from the nearby Yitzhar settlement clashed with Palestinian farmers on Tuesday, Qods news agency reported.

According to Ghassan Daghlas, the assailants then engaged in uprooting and breaking Palestinian olive trees and stole part of their crops.

Daghlas emphasized that in addition to attacks by settlers, Israeli army forces have also launched a campaign recently to destroy Palestinian gardens and olive stands in the West Bank.

The move inflicts further blows on the wrecked economy of the West Bank where the livelihood of most Palestinian families depends on agriculture and their olive groves, in particular.