RAMALLAH, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan) Israeli bulldozers have continued expanding a settler road in the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah, as new statistics reveal that 158 assaults were carried out by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and settlers against Palestinian olive pickers since the beginning of this year’s harvest season.
Local sources said the IOF resumed paving and widening the road that settlers began carving out in August on the eastern side of the village, connecting to an illegal settler outpost on top of Jabal al-Ras hill.
Over the past months, Israel has seized most of Umm Safa’s 4,800 dunums of land, leaving local residents with only about 300 dunums. Earlier this year, settlers established an outpost on the village’s land, seizing roughly 1,500 dunums.
Since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, Umm Safa has faced a surge in settler and IOF violence, including land bulldozing, demolition notices, property confiscation, and arson attacks on homes and vehicles, often carried out under military protection.
According to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, 158 incidents have been documented against Palestinian olive pickers since the start of the season.
In a statement on Tuesday, the commission said that 17 of the attacks were carried out by IOF, while 141 were committed by settlers. These included violent beatings, arrests, movement restrictions, intimidation, and direct gunfire, particularly in the Tubas area.
The attacks were most concentrated in Nablus (56 incidents), followed by Ramallah (51), and al-Khalil (15).
The commission further reported that 74 olive groves were directly attacked this season. Among them, 29 incidents involved uprooting, cutting, or bulldozing olive trees, leading to the destruction of at least 795 trees.
