RAMALLAH, October 25, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers Wednesday attacked Palestinian farmers while they were harvesting olives in Deir Nezam village, near the West Bank district of Ramallah, with stones, said a local activist.

Mohammad Tamimi, from the anti-settlements committee, said Israeli soldiers stood by while settlers from the nearby Halamish settlement, built illegally on land belonging to Palestinians, hurled stones at olive pickers.

The activist noted that settlers attacks have escalated in the recent months, particularly after Israel’s seizure of the main road that connects several villages in the area and the ongoing expansion of Halamish settlement.

The Israeli occupation’s military government issued orders on Monday expropriating Palestinian land near the illegal settlement of Halamish, northwest of Ramallah.

According to the activist, soldiers passed on notices to the farmers informing them that their land will be confiscated “for security reasons,” the excuse Israel always uses to justify all its illegal acts. He said that the land seizure is clearly intended to expand the settlement of Halamish.

T.R.