Palestinian killed, 16 wounded in Israeli pogrom in occupied West Bank

A Palestinian has been killed and 16 others wounded in a pogrom by settlers under the protection of Israeli forces in the northern occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities said.

Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazzari, 44, from Burqa, northwest of Nablus, was killed in the attack on Palestinians harvesting olives on farmland near Burqa, west of Nablus, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.

Several of those wounded, including a woman, were taken to hospitals in Tulkarem and Nablus, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported, citing local sources.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said its teams treated five people in the area, including two who suffered gunshot wounds, while the other three were beaten, Wafa reported.

PRCS said Israeli forces also assaulted ambulance crews trying to reach the injured people, and briefly detained three paramedics and a volunteer.

Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah, said the violence comes amid escalating attacks on Palestinians during the olive harvest season.

“If you just go to pick your olives now … you could not return from the journey. It could be dangerous, not only because of Israeli restrictions against farmers going to their lands, but also because of the armed Israeli settlers who continue to assault Palestinians,” Ibrahim said.

She said the attacks have transformed an important social and economic season for Palestinian families.

“In October, usually Palestinians take days off from their jobs and go to the land, try and pick their olives because this is supposed to be a joyous season,” she added.

Israeli forces and settlers also assaulted several Palestinians harvesting olives near Anata in the central occupied West Bank, Wafa reported.

Elsewhere, settlers cut down at least 50 olive trees belonging to the Palestinian Siam family after attacking the village of Mikhmas, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem.

Ibrahim said attacks have affected olive farming, with at least 45,000 trees destroyed across the occupied West Bank this year.

Since October 7, 2023 there have been almost 15,000 settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, with 66 Palestinians killed, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

One such pogrom, backed by Israeli forces in the village of Marda, north of Salfit, injured a number of Palestinians picking olives on Wednesday. They were treated for tear gas inhalation by the PRCS, according to Wafa, which says Israeli forces detained at least three Palestinians.

Separately, a Palestinian was injured after being shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces during a raid near the al-Aqsa restaurant in Jenin. The injured man was taken to hospital by PRCS.

Israeli forces detained a Palestinian and imposed a curfew on residents in Burqa, as settlers raided the village east of Ramallah.