Israeli forces raid occupied West Bank towns as settlers storm Palestinian olive farms

Israeli forces arrested tens of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Friday and Saturday, amid settler attacks on farmers harvesting olives.

The Israeli army stormed the al-Fawwar refugee camp south of Hebron on Saturday, detaining ten Palestinians, including three siblings, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

Soldiers surrounded the camp and used heavy gunfire, preventing residents from entering or leaving the area, locals said.

Earlier, the Palestinian Prisoners Society and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said at least 20 Palestinians had been detained by Israel within a 24-hour period.

The detainees were rounded up in raids in Hebron, Ramallah, Qalqilya, Jericho, Bethlehem and Nablus.

The two groups said detained Palestinians have been subjected to destruction of property, severe bearings and threats, including against their families.

Around 11,500 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank since October 2023, when raids on the area were ramped up in conjunction with Israel's war on Gaza, the statement said.

Palestinians have also come under attack from Israeli settlers, who have prevented farmers from harvesting olives. Settlers stormed olive farms in the towns of Kafr ad-Dik, Qusra and Sinjil, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister service, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

It is expected that around 80,000 dunams of land with olive trees will be unreachable for farmers, threatening around 15 percent of this year's crop, the report added.