Two border policemen and 10 olive harvesters, some Israeli and some Palestinian, were injured Friday morning during clashes between the two groups in the area of the Palestinian village of Nil'in.
A Palestinian family works in the olive harvest (illustrative)
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
Border Police said approximately 100 Palestinians and left-wing activists had entered a closed military zone.
"We encountered massive rock-throwing by the demonstrators. One officer was injured in his back and evacuated to the hospital. A second officer was lightly hurt in his hand and treated on the spot," the Border Police spokesman said.
Border police used various means to disperse the crowd, including rubber-coated bullets and smoke grenades.
"The demonstrators used violence and we responded," the spokesman added.
But Jonathan Pollak of the Israeli group Anarchists Against the Wall said that the group of olive harvesters had no idea that the area was a closed military zone until the border policemen arrived.
He said that prior to their arrival they had called the Civil Administration to inform them that they would be in the area to help the Palestinians harvest their olives and they were not informed that it was a closed military zone.
Since no permit is needed to pick olives in that area, they didn't need to call the Civil Administration but they did so anyway as a precaution, because so many Israelis were arriving to help out, said Pollak. Some brought their children, he added.
"When we got there the Border Police started shooting tear gas at us. About 10 people were wounded. One Israeli was hit in the arm and the ribs by tear-gas projectiles and two Palestinians were wounded in the legs by rubber bullets," said Pollak.
The remainder of the injuries, he added, were from tear-gas inhalation.
Pollack said that border policemen arrested him for entering a closed military zone. A second Israeli was arrested on the same charge and a third was detained. All three were let go within five hours.
He added that he does not believe that any rocks were thrown by olive harvesters during the event. After an hour or so, he added, border policemen allowed the Israeli volunteers and the Palestinians to continue with the harvest.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights said that he, too, had contacted the army about the olive harvesting.
He said he believes the army did not pass the information on to the Border Police, leading the policemen to mistake the harvesters for anti-barrier demonstrators.
A Civil Administration spokesman said that his office had not received any calls Friday morning regarding the olive harvest, but added that olive picking in that specific area did not need to be coordinated with his office. Nor is the area a closed military zone.
It was his belief, the spokesman said, that Friday's event had to do with a demonstration against the security barrier in that area, but that after the demonstration, harvesters were allowed to pick olives.
Nil'in has been the site of frequent clashes between Palestinians and security forces in recent months as a result of the ongoing construction of the security barrier in that area.
Meanwhile, Palestinians and settlers clashed near Nablus Saturday morning, when Palestinian farmers came to harvest olives in lands belonging to the village of Burin, located near the settlement of Yitzhar.
The Palestinians said that the settlers attacked them, firing in the air and throwing rocks at them. One of the men was wounded in the head, they said.
The IDF said that the farmers had neglected to coordinate their arrival with the army. It acknowledged there were clashes at the scene, but added that soldiers had arrived and broken up the fight.
The crowds then dispersed and the olive harvest continued peacefully, the army said.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.
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