Wednesday 15 October, Tulkarm — at around 10.15am large convoy of Palestinian men and women from across the West Bank, together with international activists, arrived in Nazla al-Sharqiya, Tulkarm, to support the Zaytoun 2025 olive harvest campaign.
Their destination was a Palestinian olive grove that now has an illegal Israeli outpost right next to it. The outpost was set up during the escalation of the Gaza genocide in 2023.
Activists headed to the olive grove where they met Israeli soldiers, who have been there every day, preventing Palestinian farmers from harvesting their olives.
Before the harvest could properly begin, Border Police fired multiple tear gas canisters upon the farmers and activists from the top of the hill. Activists attempted to continue with the harvest, but the Israeli army callously continued to fire tear gas into the grove and fly their drones overhead. They continued to fire tear gas at the activists and farmers whilst they were retreating. Two women were injured by the tear gas and had to be taken away by ambulances and hospitalised.
The Israeli army remained on the hill above the olive grove, aggressively shouting and denying people their right to work their land.
Members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society helped multiple people who had been badly affected by the tear gas.
The Israeli army saw that the tear gas was causing fires in the fields, and continued to rain down tear gas on activists who were trying to put them out.
One Palestinian activist stated that the activists for Zaytoun 2025 are “like our flotilla” to break the occupation’s control over Palestine’s olives.
