JERUSALEM, Oct 20: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Monday lashed out at “thugs” who interfere with the Palestinian olive harvest, amid reports of further attacks by settlers on farmers in the West Bank.

“I condemn these thugs who interfere with the olive harvest which constitutes an important sector of the Palestinian economy,” Barak told Israel’s army radio.

Human rights groups whose members are participating in the harvest have reported several incidents in which settlers attacked Palestinian farmers picking olives from their trees close to Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas sharply condemned “the escalation of violence by settlers against Palestinians during the olive harvest in various parts of the West Bank”. He urged the Israeli government to ensure these attacks stop.

The English-language Jerusalem Post on Monday quoted what it said was a top military officer as saying there have been 20 such clashes since the harvest started earlier this month.

In a report this month on the olive harvest, the United Nations pointed out that “as a military occupying power, the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) is obligated to ensure public order and life in the occupied territories and the government of Israel has repeatedly committed to ensuring that Palestinian olive farmers have access to their fields”.

The report said Palestinian farmers in the West Bank “have faced incidents of crop theft, tree uprooting, harassment and physical attack”. In addition, many farmers are separated from their olive groves by the Israeli West Bank barrier, and need special permits to access their fields through barriers that only open at set times. —AFP