Israeli settlers attack olive harvest in West Bank village, injuring at least two
Masked Israeli settlers burned olive trees and hurled stones at Palestinians harvesting in Abu Falah on Friday, injuring at least two people, including a Washington Post photojournalist.
Abu Falah, Palestine. Dozens of militant Israeli settlers, dressed in black with covered faces, carried out a coordinated assault on Palestinians gathering their annual olive crop in this West Bank village on Friday. Trees were burned and stones hurled during the attack, which left at least two people injured, including a journalist.
Photojournalist among those injured
Palestinian medics reported that two injured people were transported to hospitals around Ramallah. Among them was Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, whose condition was stable.
Footage from the scene showed Levine on a dirt track, lying on her side and covering her face with her hands while three or more settlers stood around her.
Speaking later from her hospital bed, Levine said: “I was attacked, pushed to the ground. Luckily I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking me and kicking me.”
According to Levine, her Palestinian colleagues stepped in and brought the assault to an end. Medics then took her by ambulance first to an Abu Falah clinic and subsequently to a Ramallah hospital.
Harvesters confronted in terraced grove
Reuters witnesses said approximately 80 settlers came down from a hill overlooking a terraced olive grove, with some carrying gas canisters. Residents of Abu Falah had assembled there to gather ripened olives, part of a valued yearly Palestinian tradition.
The settlers positioned themselves in front of the grove’s terraced rows. Some fired stones with slings at the villagers, who moved downhill before gathering stones and throwing them back in self-defence.
Moutaz Abdelhadi, a 42-year-old farmer who witnessed the assault in Abu Falah, said: “The settlers want to attack us and force us from our homes,”
Attack continued after soldiers arrived
During the assault, at least two jeeps belonging to the Israeli military drove rapidly through the area, raising clouds of dust as villagers fled their path.
The violence persisted after the military arrived. Israeli soldiers discharged tear gas towards Palestinians who had moved out of the jeeps’ way. Live gunshots were audible nearby, and a Reuters photographer witnessed at least one settler carrying a weapon fire it.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli military to a request for comment.
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