Rights group accuses settlers of throwing rocks at Palestinian olive harvesters

A group of settlers taunted and threw rocks at Palestinian olive harvesters near the Yitzhar settlement south of Nablus on Sunday morning, Rabbis for Human Rights field coordinator Zakaria Sede said.

Since the start of the olive harvest in early October, Palestinians have been picking the small fruits in the farmlands near West Bank cities and villages.

“The settlers yelled and threw rocks at the farmers,” Sede, who accompanied the harvesters, said in a phone interview. He added that a large number of IDF soldiers quickly arrived at the scene, took control and ensured the harvesters could pick olives.

“When the soldiers arrived, they did their job well and made sure the farmers could harvest their olives,” Sede said. “But the army should have expected the settlers would cause problems and sent large numbers of soldiers ahead of time.”

The IDF spokesman said settlers and Palestinians took part in “violent confrontations” before troops arrived and stopped them.

When asked how the two sides participated in the confrontations, the spokesman declined to elaborate.

Sede, as well as Huwara Mayor Nasser Oudeh, denied that the Palestinian harvesters acted violently in any way towards the settlers.

“The Palestinians did not push anyone or throw rocks. They only told the settlers to go away,” Oudeh, who was also present at the scene, said in phone call.

Yitzhar spokesman Avraham Binyamin did not respond to multiple phone calls.

Uriah Cohen, the head of Yitzhar’s secretariat, expressed his frustration that the IDF allowed Palestinians to pick olives near his community.

“Every year the leftist organizations increase pressure on the security establishment to allow a harvest very close to the houses of the community,” Cohen told Arutz 7 on Sunday. “Attacks in our communities have taken place during the so-called ‘olive harvest’ and unfortunately it seems that the security establishment is yielding to the unacceptable and dangerous pressure of extreme leftist organizations.”

Rabbis for Human Rights and other NGOs often call on the IDF to ensure Palestinians can pick olives during the annual harvest.

The IDF spokesman said the Palestinian harvesters near Yitzhar on Sunday had coordinated with the army before picking olives from their trees.

Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.