Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazzari, 44, from Burqa, northwest of Nablus, was killed in the assault on farmland near the village, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said its teams treated five people, including two with gunshot wounds and three who were beaten, according to the Wafa news agency.
PRCS reported that Israeli forces assaulted ambulance crews attempting to reach the injured and briefly detained three paramedics and a volunteer. Several of the wounded, including a woman, were taken to hospitals in Tulkarem and Nablus, Wafa said, citing local sources.
Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah, said the violence comes amid escalating attacks on Palestinians during the olive harvest season. “If you just go to pick your olives now … you could not return from the journey. It could be dangerous, not only because of Israeli restrictions against farmers going to their lands, but also because of the armed Israeli settlers who continue to assault Palestinians,” Ibrahim said.
She said the attacks have transformed what is traditionally an important social and economic season. “In October, usually Palestinians take days off from their jobs and go to the land, try and pick their olives because this is supposed to be a joyous season,” she added. Ibrahim said at least 45,000 olive trees have been destroyed across the occupied West Bank this year. Israeli forces and settlers also assaulted several Palestinians harvesting olives near Anata in the central West Bank, Wafa reported.