In the West Bank, Jewish settlers brutally attack Palestinian farmers, cut down olive trees, set fire to plantations - just as the harvest is being harvested. Palestinian families are filled with fear. DW report.
Olives are an important source of income for many Palestinians in the West Bank. Traditionally, the harvest is an important event in every family's calendar and an occasion for joy and celebration. But this year, the olive harvest has been marked by violence.
This is the case with the Abu Aliya family from Turmus Aya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the Jordan River. The family lives in constant fear after masked Jewish settlers stormed the village and beat a woman with clubs, who is hospitalized with a head wound. A journalist happened to be at the same place and managed to film the attack on video.
Everyone here is afraid
„Of course I'm afraid, everyone here is afraid. I'm afraid of the settlers and the army that comes to our village every day“, the injured woman told DW.
„We can't rely on any protection, we have to defend ourselves. If a settler appears, you have to run - we have no other choice. He is armed, and we are not. If you see a settler, you run“, adds Raje Abu Aliya.
A few days ago, another member of the family was also attacked by settlers. "They were surprised that I managed to escape through one of the doors that they weren't guarding. I ran away, and 40-50 settlers started chasing me," the man says.
They are cutting down trees, burning crops
And these are not isolated incidents. Since the start of the harvest in October, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has documented more than 126 attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians and their lands.
Armed settlers, often accompanied by soldiers, attack Palestinian farmers, cut down hundreds of trees and set fire to olive groves - most often without consequences. In other cases, Israeli authorities have denied Palestinians access to their own land.
UN: Settler violence has increased “explosively”
In addition to physical attacks, there has been theft of produce and encroachment on plantations - more than 4,000 olive trees and young saplings have been damaged or completely destroyed, the organization said. “Violence by extremist settlers has increased explosively during the olive harvest,“ the UN Human Rights Office reported.
Wadi Alkam stands in front of what remains of his olive orchard and says: "It just destroys you mentally. These trees were 25 years old. I planted them myself, I took care of them for years, I watered them, I pruned them. "I took care of them as if they were my own children," says Wadi Alkam, whose olive grove was almost completely destroyed by Israeli settlers.
An important livelihood for Palestinians
For many Palestinians, olive trees and olive oil production are an important and almost sole source of income. The trees grow slowly and bear fruit only after years. The plantations also symbolize the deep attachment of Palestinians to their land, which Israeli settlers want for themselves.
"They cut down the trees because they see them as enemies - these are the roots of our people, our cultural heritage. For us, olive trees are blessed. And what is happening in Turmus Ayya is happening in all Palestinian villages and towns. "Wherever there are olive trees, there are night attacks," Wadi Alkam told DW.
The calm in these places is a rare exception.