The Palestinian president says Israel has failed to protect Palestinians against attacks by Israeli settlers during the olive harvest. He says the situation is “unbearable.” President Mahmoud Abbas' remarks were published Monday in Palestinian newspapers. Abbas says he has complained to Israel and the international community. He says that if Israel does not crack down, it means it's not serious about reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians. The West Bank has some 10 million olive trees, and thousands of Palestinians participate in the annual harvest. In recent days, there have been several reports of Israeli settlers attacking farmers and their property. The Israeli military says it's working hard to protect the farmers. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemned Monday “assaults by hooligans” disrupting Palestinian olive picking in the occupied West Bank, but said Israeli security could not protect the harvesters everywhere. Israel has deployed forces in a “supreme effort” to let the harvest proceed despite attacks by Jewish settlers in some olive groves this month, Barak told Israel's Army Radio. Asked about Abbas's remarks, Barak said “the assaults by hooligans in the area ... deserve condemnation.” “But there are hundreds of sites where the olive harvest takes place and it isn't possible to be everywhere,” Barak added. He also urged Palestinians to coordinate with Israeli security forces to ensure they could harvest olives safely. Israeli soldiers intervened to chase away dozens of settlers who assaulted olive harvesters near the West Bank town of Qalqilya Sunday, Palestinian witnesses said. But another harvest near the West Bank town of Hebron was called off Saturday after several settlers assaulted two photographers and a foreign peace activist. Police restored order by forcing everyone to leave the area.
