West Bank footage shows men in IDF fatigues fire in air to disperse olive harvest volunteers

Nurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent

The organization Rabbis for Human Rights reports that one of its volunteers was injured in the hand by a drone while assisting Palestinians in harvesting olives near the village of Deir Istiya in the West Bank. According to the organization, she was taken to a hospital with a deep cut.

In the footage, the volunteer is seen being injured by the drone as it lands on her, after which two men in IDF fatigues arrive at the scene to pick up the drone. The men appear to be reservists from the emergency response team of a local settlement. They can be heard saying that it belongs to a settlement security coordinator, though it is unclear from which settlement.

After an argument breaks out over the drone, one of the uniformed men points his weapon at the olive-picking volunteers while the other fires a shot into the air before the two withdraw from the area.

According to the organization, about 30 volunteers and staff members from Rabbis for Human Rights and Standing Together were present at the scene, accompanying Palestinian farmers during the harvest, along with nine rabbis from the American group T’ruah.

The IDF has yet to issue a response.

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