\n
<\/p>\n
RAMALLAH: Israeli military bulldozers razed approximately 31 dunams of privately owned land in the town of Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah, on Thursday, uprooting more than 400 olive trees just days before the start of the annual harvest.<\/p>\n
The destruction left Palestinian villagers weeping over the mangled remains of their trees, transforming what is typically a season of joy and community gathering into one of grief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abd Alfattah Tamimi, who owns an olive grove in the village, watched as a military bulldozer smashed the top of one of his trees before tearing its roots entirely from the ground.<\/p>\n
The assault comes as farmers prepare for the harvest, which traditionally begins in the first week of October.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Palestinian activists and farmers warn that this year\u2019s yield could be particularly volatile, driven by a record surge in Israeli settler attacks and military operations targeting local resources across the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll our olive trees, including the newly planted \u200cones, were uprooted. Also, our neighbors\u2019; they uprooted them all,\u201d Tamimi said, adding that he and his neighbors own nearly 9 acres of land filled with olive trees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey left us with nothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In the past, the military has cited the need to clear land of olive trees to prevent security threats or ambushes \u200con troops.<\/p>\n
Palestinian human rights groups reject \u200cthis, saying the destruction in effect deprives Palestinian farmers of income from \u200cthe sale of olives and olive oil while uprooting \u200ctrees they view as a symbol of their connection to the land.<\/p>\n
Olives are the backbone of Palestinian agriculture, a sector that \u200caccounts for around 8 percent of GDP and more than 60,000 jobs, according to the Palestinian Authority\u2019s agriculture ministry.<\/p>\n
Nather Tamimi, another landowner in the area of Deir Nizam village near Ramallah, said the loss of the trees was particularly painful in that it came so close to the start of the harvest.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom this land, my brothers and I produce 120 drums of olive oil. Our neighbors produce the same,\u201d said Tamimi, speaking while looking over his olive grove.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey uprooted trees everywhere, even between the houses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Settlers attacked a vehicle on Thursday afternoon near the town of Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah.<\/p>\n
Local sources said a group of settlers attacked a vehicle belonging to a citizen named Bilal Masalmeh as it was passing through the area.<\/p>\n
They pepper-sprayed Masalmeh and several young men who had attempted to reach the scene.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n