Palestinian farmer shot dead by Israeli settler in Nablus

Palestinians identified the man as 47-year-old Mahmoud Zaal Odeh, killed in the occupied Palestinian village of Qusra, south of the city of Nablus.

Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas said Odeh was working on his land when he was confronted by some 20 settlers who were hiking through the village.

Daghlas said the settlers ordered him to move and when he refused, one of them shot him in the chest.

But the Israeli military claims that Odeh was shot after "throwing stones" and "lightly wounding two settlers," during the confrontation.

The Israeli military has said it is looking into Odeh’s murder.

Palestinian farmers are often targets of Israeli settler aggression, with them commonly attacking Palestinians tending their land. During the autumn olive harvesting season, Palestinian farmers are at even greater risk.

Towards the end of last month, Israeli settlers poisoned and stole olives from Palestinian land in the Qalqiliya village of Jit in the occupied West Bank.

When the Palestinian farmers arrived to tend to their olives, they realised that a large amount of the fully grown trees were poisoned after being sprayed with toxic chemicals.

Israeli settlers are known for their violence against the native Palestinian population – not even sparing children from their aggression.

Israeli settlers attacked a number of Palestinians homes with rocks and pepper-sprayed two children, causing them severe suffocation on Friday in the occupied city of Hebron earlier this month.

In October, a seven-year-old Palestinian girl was hospitalised after settlers threw stones at her family's car in the occupied city. The stones and glass hit her face, leaving her with multiple injuries.

Over 600,000 Israeli Jews now live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, making a contiguous Palestinian state virtually impossible.

Settlement building in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem is considered illegal under international law.

Agencies contributed to this report