Palestinian landowners in the Wadi Rababa neighborhood of Silwan were attacked by Israeli settlers and authorities October 7 for harvesting their own olives.
Two days earlier, the settlers, protected by police and crews of the Israeli Nature Authority, had come and taken olives from these trees, claiming that the ownership to the land is disputed and the settler organizations have legal ownership. But the Palestinian families say they have ownership documents dating back to the days of Ottoman rule. The rightful owners, their families, and international supporters came out to counter this intrusion and to harvest the olives from their own trees.
As shown in this Photo Story, they were confronted aggressively and physically by the police, officers from the Nature Authority, and settlers. One resident, Mohammed Simrin, was arrested. In the end, they succeeded in harvesting their olives despite the violent intrusion.
These photos trace what happened on that day.