Former Israeli military officials joined Palestinian farmers near Qusra on Nov. 3 to help harvest olives, as settler attacks put access to Palestinian groves at risk, Reuters reported.
Landowner Nimr Nazzal said the volunteers’ presence let him reach his olive trees. He accused the Israeli military of protecting settlers.
Former Major General Eyal Ben-Reuven said rising settler violence prompted him to organize the effort months earlier. He said the group includes about 30 former senior officers, among them six generals. Ben-Reuven compared attacks on women and children to pogroms, saying they recalled stories his parents had told him.
Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group, recorded 180 incidents involving physical attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters during the season’s first 35 days. The group said Israeli forces were present in more than 23% of the settler-violence cases in its tally.
Many Palestinians say Israeli forces enable settler violence by responding late to calls about attacks or assisting settlers. The military rejects those allegations and says it opposes violence and works to preserve security in the West Bank.
Former Colonel Doron Meinert, who volunteers in the West Bank, called the occupation “the main problem” in Israeli society. He said Israel should address it with Palestinians.
Former Brigadier General Jonatan Yoni said the violence was also damaging Israel’s standing in Western countries and the United States. He said he was motivated by concern for Palestinian farmers and opposition to Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
The territory has about 500,000 Israeli settlers and at least three million Palestinians. United Nations bodies and most countries consider the settlements illegal under international law governing military occupation; Israel rejects that position and describes the West Bank as disputed territory.
The Nov. 3 visit came after an Oct. 19 appeal by experts appointed by the United Nations for Israel to protect Palestinian farmers’ access to their groves, as EconoTimes previously reported in its coverage of the experts’ appeal for access to West Bank olive groves.
