UN warns of 'sharp increase' in Israeli settler attacks during harvest season in occupied West Bank

​​​​​​​By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The UN on Thursday reported "a sharp increase in attacks" by illegal Israeli settlers during olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank.

"In the West Bank, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports a sharp increase in attacks by Israeli settlers since the start of the olive harvest season in October, which is threatening the safety and livelihoods of Palestinian farmers," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.

He said that "in just three days late last month, settlers vandalized more than 700 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings, mostly olive, in Palestinian villages in Hebron, Ramallah and Salfit."

Saying that OCHA documented around 260 illegal Israeli settler attacks linked to the harvest season across nearly 90 communities in the occupied West Bank, Dujarric said: Most of these incidents resulted in casualties, property damage or both."

"This marks at least a three-fold increase compared to each of the preceding three years," he added.

Asked about Amnesty International's report that said there is "conclusive evidence" of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Dujarric said the UN's "position has not changed."

"For the secretary-general (Antonio Guterres), the designation of a genocide can only be made by a competent court," he said, adding that the position of the UN "has not stopped us from condemning the repeated violations of international law, from speaking out against the continued violence against civilians that we have seen and advocating for an end to this conflict."