'Israel' intensifies crackdown on int'l activists in West Bank: Report
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Solidarity volunteers in the occupied West Bank describe threatening interrogations, false charges, and swift expulsion orders by a new Israeli police unit.
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Palestinian mourners carry the body of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi who was fatally shot by Israeli soldiers while participating in an anti-settlement protest in the West Bank, during her funeral procession in the West Bank city of Nablus, on September 9, 2024. (AP)
In recent weeks, "Israel" has intensified its crackdown on international solidarity activists operating in the occupied West Bank, particularly those supporting Palestinians during the critical olive harvest season, +972 Magazine reported.
The escalation, as per the report, comes as part of a broader effort to disrupt the work of foreign volunteers, many of whom have faced increasing harassment, detentions, and even deportations while trying to assist Palestinian communities under occupation.
Dive deeper
Since the beginning of October, eight foreign activists have been detained, with five either deported or pressured to leave the country, while the remaining three were banned from entering the West Bank for varying periods.
This marks an escalation in "Israel's" restrictions on international presence in the occupied territory, a policy now enforced by a special "task force" established in April by the Israeli police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The "task force", specifically targeting foreign activists in the West Bank, operates under "Israel's" Shai (West Bank) Central Police Unit and collaborates with the Population and Immigration Authority to expedite arrests and deportations, as per the report.
The report went on to say that the force was created shortly after the Biden administration and other foreign governments imposed sanctions on violent Israeli settlers and related groups, appearing to be a direct response to these measures.
According to the Human Rights Defenders Fund, 15 foreign human rights activists have been detained and subsequently deported or coerced into leaving "Israel".
The big picture
International solidarity activists face not only the threat of arrest and deportation by "Israel" but also the danger of violent attacks from soldiers and settlers, the report stressed.
In September, a 26-year-old Turkish-American activist, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, was fatally shot by an Israeli soldier during a protest in the town of Beita.
Eygi became the third volunteer from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to be killed by Israeli soldiers, and the first in over two decades.
Palestinian olive harvesters attacked 80 times in Oct by IOF, settlers
The Yesh Din Israeli NGO reported a significant rise in violence targeting Palestinian olive harvesters in October, documenting 80 incidents across 42 Palestinian villages, including the village of Beit Lidd near the Einav settlement.
According to Yesh Din, these attacks involved shootings, violent assaults, threats, expulsion of harvesters, prevention of harvesting, crop theft, equipment theft, and the uprooting of olive trees.
Yesh Din also noted that Israeli security personnel were present during 85% of these incidents but did not intervene to stop the attacks.
"The increasing number of incidents and the cooperation between the settlers and security forces personnel raise concerns that the prevention of Palestinian olive harvesting in the West Bank is a deliberate policy of Israel," the group stated.
The surge in violence during the annual olive harvest season has raised alarm among Palestinian communities and human rights advocates, with calls for increased protection for farmers and accountability for perpetrators.
UN voices concern over escalating violence
Meanwhile, the UN has reported that Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are facing increasing attacks from Israeli settlers and more violence from the Israeli army as the crucial olive harvest season begins.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) condemned earlier in the month what it described as Israeli use of “war-like” tactics in the occupied West Bank, citing a rise in killings and settler attacks since the olive harvest began the previous week. Between October 8 and 14, nine Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, according to OCHA.
The agency also documented 32 settler attacks on Palestinians and their property related to the olive harvest since early October. Around 600 olive trees, known for their slow growth, have been destroyed, vandalized, or stolen by settlers, the report noted.
One of the most notable incidents occurred when Hanan Abd Rahman Abu Salameh, a 59-year-old woman, was killed by a soldier while harvesting olives near Jenin. The Israeli soldier fired around 10 shots at her.
Olives are the West Bank’s most significant agricultural product, generating up to $70 million annually for farmers, according to the Palestinian Farmers’ Union. Between 25% and 33% of the West Bank’s Palestinian population is involved in the olive industry, producing items like oil and soap.
It is worth noting that Palestinians have reported severe restrictions on land access during the last two harvests.
However, attacks on Palestinian farmers by extremist Israeli settlers, often escorted by Israeli forces, have worsened, escalating in recent months.
Since October 7, when the Israeli aggression in Gaza began, at least 738 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by either Israeli troops or settlers.
