Israeli soldiers steal olives after blocking Palestinian farmers

Israeli occupation soldiers in the West Bank prevented Palestinian farmers from harvesting their olive trees, before being filmed stealing olives from the same groves.

In the town of Sinjil, near Ramallah, troops handed farmers a “closed military zone” order, claiming olive picking there required prior army coordination. Yet Civil Administration maps show the area was not subject to those restrictions.

Witnesses said the soldiers arrived after an Israeli settler, who had spent the past week patrolling Palestinian land to obstruct harvesting, appeared on site the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. His presence reportedly prompted the army to impose the closure.

Locals told Haaretz that the settler had repeatedly threatened farmers, at one point saying he would use his weapon if they did not leave.