Amman, Oct. 21 (Petra) The head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) Muayyad Shaaban, said that Israeli occupation forces and settlers have carried out 158 attacks against olive pickers since the beginning of the current harvest season.

In a press statement on Tuesday, Shaaban said the commission’s teams documented 17 attacks carried out by the Israeli army and 141 by settlers. These included violent physical assaults, arrests, movement restrictions, and the denial of farmers’ access to their land, in addition to acts of intimidation and direct gunfire, such as incidents recorded in Tubas Governorate.

He said Nablus Governorate recorded the highest number of assaults, with 56 cases, followed by Ramallah with 51, and Hebron with 15. A total of 57 cases of movement restrictions and intimidation and 22 cases of beatings and physical assaults against farmers were documented.

Shaaban noted that this season is among the most difficult and dangerous in decades, as Israeli forces and settlers have exploited wartime conditions to commit violations, backed by policies and laws that encourage attacks, terrorism, and restrictions including the closure of governorates, arming of settler militias, and, most seriously, exempting them from accountability and prosecution.

He added that this season has seen an unprecedented escalation in the declaration of agricultural lands as "closed military zones," preventing farmers from accessing their fields and harvesting their crops.

According to Shaaban, 74 attacks targeted olive groves, including 29 incidents of tree cutting, breaking, and bulldozing, which destroyed 795 olive trees.

He stressed that the targeting of the olive harvest is systematic, aiming to "undermine the historical and emotional bond between Palestinians and their land" as part of a wider plan to seize Palestinian geography and prevent citizens from reaching their property.

Shaaban reaffirmed that the persistence of Palestinian farmers in reaching their lands and continuing the olive harvest has thwarted settlers’ plans and reaffirmed Palestinians’ resilience and ability to resist occupation measures.

//Petra// AF