A Reuters photographer and an Israeli citizen were injured on Saturday after being attacked during an olive harvest near the Palestinian village of Beta in the West Bank. Extremist settlers are suspected to have arrived at the scene in order to sabotage the harvest of residents of the village and the surrounding area. According to reports, about 30 Palestinians and left-wing activists arrived at the harvest accompanied by about 10 journalists. Testimonies speak of about 50 masked Israeli youths who attacked the participants – including the journalists – with clubs and stones, causing serious injuries.
Yuval Ben Ari, a left-wing activist who also serves as a reserve soldier, said that he arrived at the scene together with Reuters security adviser Grant Bowden. According to them, both were attacked with clubs and stones. Ben Ari wrote in a post he published online:
“An attempted murder by means of stone throwing from close range and a club, courtesy of the settlers of Giv’at Ronen. Three injured — a Palestinian in moderate condition, two Israelis, maybe more. Not confirmed. A complaint will be filed after the CT scan and stitches. I tried to explain that I’m a reservist; they were less receptive. Maybe the face coverings made it hard for them to hear.”
Photographer Raneen Sawafta, who was present at the scene, was injured to an unknown degree. “They beat her mercilessly,” said Jonathan Pollak, a human rights activist who participated in the harvest. “They continued throwing stones at her while she was on the ground and then attacked those who came to help her.”
The IDF stated in its response that the olive harvest had not been coordinated, and that the area in question requires prior coordination. During the current harvest season, there is increased enforcement of coordination requirements, which makes it difficult for Palestinians to harvest olives within the short season. However, IDF forces did not arrive at the scene during the attack. In the army’s official response, there was no reference to Ben Ari’s injury. The police, on the other hand, initially did not issue an official response.
The IDF Spokesperson later stated: “Earlier, IDF forces were dispatched to the Evyatar area in the Shomron Brigade following a report of friction between Israeli civilians and Palestinians during an uncoordinated olive harvest, in an area that requires coordination. The forces acted to disperse the confrontation, during which several Palestinians were injured and evacuated for medical treatment. Further handling of the incident was transferred to the Israel Police. The IDF condemns incidents of this kind and will continue to act to maintain security and order in the area.”
Reuters said in an official response: "We call on the Israeli authorities to investigate the incident and punish those responsible – to ensure that journalists can work freely and without being harmed."
The police said that they received the report only hours after the event: "The report on the incident was received by the police retrospectively, from the IDF, hours after the incident. No arrests or real-time documentation activities were carried out at the scene by IDF forces. The place where the events occurred is within the IDF's area of responsibility, including the responsibility for preventing, handling and ending the incident, until the arrival of the police. In this case, as mentioned, a real-time report was not received but only after the incident had ended."
The police added: "The IDF, as the sovereign in Areas A and B, is responsible for preventing violent incidents in these areas, while the investigative authority in these cases lies with the police – sometimes with the assistance of the Shin Bet and the Division on the Prevention of Jewish Terrorism, which is responsible for thwarting and preventing terrorism, extremist violence, and subversion. In addition, the police are responsible for enforcing the law and maintaining public order in Areas C and in Israeli communities. We act in every case of extremist violent incidents with the aim of bringing those involved to justice, and we will continue to do so with determination and professionalism. Understanding and recognizing the areas of responsibility of each body are the basis for enforcing the law and maintaining public security in the West Bank."
This incident follows a significantly large increase of settler-violence attacks in the West Bank in the last month. The United Nations stated that there were at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank in October – amounting to an average of 8 incidents a day. The police have taken little to no action against the perpetrators of these attacks.
Translated by Katie Felstein