Israeli settlers burn olive crops as Palestinians mark harvesting season

Israeli settlers set fire to and stole olive trees near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority's Wafa news agency reported.

The settlers reportedly targeted olive crops between the villages of Qusra and Jorish to the south of Nablus, Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the area, told Wafa.

He said the land is near the illegal Israeli settlement of Majdolim, adding that the Israeli forces are heavily present in the area.

Later on in the evening, settlers stole the olive crops of a Palestinian resident in the town of Kafr Qallil, south of Nablus, Daghlas added.

The alleged acts of vandalism come as Palestinians residents prepare for the annual harvesting of olives, which provide a key source of income for Palestinian farmers. Israeli settlers commonly vandalise Palestinian olive farms in a deliberate attempt to stifle their revenue, commonly by setting fire to olive farms and poisoning the trees.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, committing various violations against Palestinian civilians. 

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.