Palestinians say West Bank woman shot dead picking olives

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces shot dead a woman on Thursday in the occupied West Bank, with local officials reporting she was killed while harvesting olives.

A ministry statement said Palestinian woman Hanan Abdel Rahman Abu Salama "was killed by (Israeli) occupation bullets" in Faqoua village, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was "checking" the report.

According to witness testimonies collected by the village council, Abu Salama was killed while picking olives with her family.

"An Israeli in military clothing arrived at the place in a white car and fired about 10 bullets at the Abu Salama family, who were picking olives on their land," Faqoua village councillor Munir Barakat told AFP.

UN experts on Wednesday said that Palestinian farmers in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, were facing "the most dangerous olive season ever".

Olive harvests are central to Palestinian life and culture but have also been the site of perennial clashes between farmers and encroaching Israeli settlers for decades, with the disputes hinging on access to land.

"A few days ago, the council published an invitation to the village residents to go to their agricultural lands to pick olives," said Barakat.

He added that the shooting occurred near a wall erected by Israeli authorities in the area.

Violence in the West Bank has soared since Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel in October last year triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

Since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 738 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.