4 bruises in a settler attack on olive pickers, and the occupation arrests an elderly farmer

Salfit - Ofoq News - Four citizens were injured and bruised today as a result of settlers’ assault on olive pickers in the Dahr Rijal area, north of the town of Deirbalut, west of Salfit, while the settlers seized a vehicle belonging to a farmer and forced the citizens to leave their agricultural lands. In a separate incident, Israeli occupation forces arrested an elderly farmer while picking olives in the town of Derastiya, northwest of Salfit.

Activist Daoud Abdullah reported that a group of settlers attacked the olive pickers in the Dhahr Rijal area, and assaulted members of the family of the citizen Hazem Mustafa, which led to them sustaining bruises, and also injured the citizen Ayman Abdel Razek, bringing the number of injured to four citizens.

He added that the settlers seized a vehicle belonging to the citizen Hazem Mustafa near agricultural lands, and forced the farmers to leave their lands, in a new attack targeting olive pickers and depriving them of access to their lands and benefiting from their crops.

In a related context, activist Nazmi Salman reported that the Israeli occupation forces arrested farmer Wadih Salman, aged 74, while he was picking olives on his land in the town of Derastia, northwest of Salfit.

Salfit Governorate is witnessing an escalation in attacks by settlers and occupation forces against farmers during the olive harvest season. The attacks include physical assault, persecution of the pickers, and forcing them to leave their lands, in addition to arrests, which threatens the livelihood of many Palestinian families and prevents them from safely reaching their agricultural lands and harvesting the olive crop.