The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said attacks on farmers harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank constitute war crimes. The ministry said farmers were prevented from reaching their land in Wednesday's attacks and that ambulance crews attempting to assist the wounded were targeted.
The ministry said 44-year-old Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazari was killed in the area between Burka and the Ramin Plain east of Tulkarm. More than 20 Palestinians were wounded in the attack, and some of the wounded were in serious condition.
The ministry said the farmers were shot and beaten and were also prevented from accessing their olive groves. Ambulance crews attempting to reach the area to collect and evacuate the wounded were also attacked.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry announced that three medical workers and a volunteer had been detained. It added that the ambulances' keys were confiscated and the crews were forced to leave the area.
Call for international protection
The ministry called on the international community to provide international protection for Palestinians to prevent further escalation. It urged the international community to fulfill its "legal and moral responsibilities."
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also called for Israel to be forced to halt the attacks. The ministry called for accountability not only for those carrying out the attacks but also for those protecting them and encouraging crimes against Palestinians.
The statement called for effective deterrent measures to halt settlement expansion and attacks by Israeli settlers, protect farmers and guarantee their access to their land. The ministry said the process must ultimately lead to ending the occupation of Palestinian territory within the framework of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Restrictions increase during harvest season
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said attacks and restrictions targeting farmers in the West Bank had increased since the olive harvest began in early October. It listed beatings, theft of produce, and the uprooting or destruction of olive trees among these attacks.
The ministry said approximately 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. It said settler attacks, movement restrictions and closures at the entrances to Palestinian towns and villages had increased in the West Bank alongside Israeli raids and detentions since October 2023.
