Description

NABLUS, (PIC)-- Palestinian fire fighters managed on Monday morning to put off a huge fire that was blazing in 20 dunums of Palestinian olive farmland in Orta village, south of Nablus, a statement for the fire brigades said.

It noted that Jewish settlers had started the fire late on Sunday night, adding that many olive trees were damaged in addition to a reporter’s car, which was intentionally targeted by those settlers.

Ghassan Daghlas, in-charge of monitoring Jewish settlement activity in northern West Bank areas, said that the farmers in Orta and Yanun villages decided to delay the reaping of their olive crops this year due to the escalating settlers’ attacks.

Tens of those fanatic settlers attacked farmers in Azmut village to the east of Nablus city on Monday morning while reaping their olive harvest.

Eyewitnesses said that the settlers came from the nearby settlement of Elon Moreh, adding that the farmers refused to leave their land and engaged the settlers in fistfights to ascertain their right to reaping their harvest.

In a similar incident south of Al-Khalil, Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and stole what they had collected of olives.

Local sources said that the settlers used batons and sharp tools to attack the farmers and fired in the air to terrorize them, adding that Israeli occupation troops arrived to the scene and chased Palestinian youths at the pretext of throwing stones at the settlers and arrested two minors.