Israeli settlers in the West Bank are waging their annual war against the olive harvest season by killing Palestinian farmers on their land, attacking others, and sabotaging lands and crops.
A Palestinian man was killed on Saturday by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Bilal Abu Saleh, 40, was “shot in the chest by a settler” in the village of Sawiya near Nablus in the northern West Bank, a ministry statement said.
Settlers are motivated by a profound thirst for vengeance, as made apparent in the messages they disseminated on the West Bank's streets the day before.
In these messages, they issued threats to local residents, urging them to depart voluntarily for Jordan, underlining the dire consequences they would encounter if they chose otherwise.
With the killing of Saleh, the number of Palestinians murdered by settlers in the West Bank has risen since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on Oct.7 to six.
Saleh was killed just a day after settlers threatened the people of the West Bank with another “Nakba,” reminiscent of the events of 1948, involving killings and displacement.
The olive picking season was supposed to start last week, but security developments forced most families to delay their plans.
Palestinians eagerly anticipate the olive season, particularly as the West Bank produces some of the finest olive oils globally. Olive oil production in Palestinian territories ranges from 15,000 to 30,000 tons annually, with a portion being exported abroad.
In Palestine, there are olive trees that have been standing for thousands of years since the Roman era.
Settlers attacked Palestinian olive farmers in various areas of the West Bank, including the towns of Qusra, south of Nablus, Salfit in the northern West Bank, Hebron to the south, as well as Yatta near Hebron, Ramallah, and Tulkarm.
