West Bank Olive Harvest Assault

Captured on camera Saturday, Jewish settlers near a West Bank town were seen beating foreigners helping Palestinians pick olives.

Israeli authorities have halted an annual olive harvest in light of violence against a British activist and two photographers. The fight near the town of Hebron is the latest in a string of occurrences involving Jews, and Palestinians involved in the annual harvest. The Jewish settlers allege that the olive trees are grown on Israeli land and therefore the harvest is unlawful. Abed Hashlamoun, photographer for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA), his brother Nayef Hashlamoun, Reuters photographer and Janet Benvie, British activist with Christian Peacemaker Teams, were assaulted on Saturday. "When I went to get the camera, one of the settlers punched me in the face," Benvie told Reuters. Camera footage showed that the fight was broken up by Israeli police who thereafter allowed the perpetrators to leave. Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh said: "There are more than one million olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers feeding about 100,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. Most of these groves border the Israeli settlements which are, of course, illegal by international law. "Picking these olives often requires the permission of the Israeli authorities, but in any case it is a chance for increased friction between the farmers and Israeli settlers."