Israeli settlers steal Palestinian olive harvest
NABLUS, October 27, 2019 (WAFA) — Israeli settlers today stole the olive harvest of Palestinian farmers near the village of Awarta, to the southeast of Nablus City in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.
Saad Awwad, head of Awarta village council, told WAFA that a number of Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves isolated by fence surrounding the nearby illegal settlement of Itamar, but they were completely shocked to find out that Israeli settlers had stolen their harvest and chopped off some of the trees.
Over the past four weeks, the West Bank witnessed a wave of settler attacks and as Palestinian farmers began the year’s olive harvest. Attacks were mainly in the vicinity of the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank districts of Nablus, Salfit and Bethlehem.
Palestinians look forward to the annual olive harvest season, which is a major income source for thousands of Palestinian families in the West Bank.
In addition to stealing olive harvest from farmers, many areas planted with olive trees are closed to farmers due to their proximity to Jewish settlements or fall behind the Israeli apartheid wall.
