Elderly Palestinian woman killed by Israeli forces while harvesting olives in West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra

JENIN CITY, Palestine (AA) - An elderly Palestinian woman was shot dead by Israeli forces while harvesting olive trees in the northern West Bank on Thursday, according to health authorities.

The Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin city said the woman succumbed to her critical injuries from Israeli gunfire in Faqqua town.

Witnesses said the 59-year-old woman was shot while harvesting olives near an Israeli-built separation barrier in the town.

Separately, illegal Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians while harvesting olives in Kafr al-Labad village near Tulkarem city, according to witnesses.

Illegal settlers have been regularly attacking Palestinian homes and farmlands, taking advantage of restrictions imposed by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since the start of its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip last year.

According to Palestinian data, it is estimated that more than 720,000 Israeli settlers are living illegally in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 757 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,250 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara