witnesses Israeli settlers' attack on Palestinian farm in West Bank.From among the broken remains of Brahim Hamaiel's olive trees, in the occupied West Bank, we saw the masked men approach.
A dozen settlers, charging down from the illegal outpost above his farm and across the field towards us, moving fast and carrying large sticks.
Brahim had been showing us the trees he said had been hacked to pieces this week by settlers from the outpost.
Masked settlers ran into the Palestinian farmland
His family have farmed olives here on land near Turmus Aya, for generations, making it a target for extremist settlers who think killing Palestinian trees and livestock will also kill the idea of a Palestinian State, by forcing residents like Brahim off their land.
"Fear is natural," Brahim had told me, looking up at the ridge where tarpaulin flapped at the settlers' lookout post in front of a few caravans and makeshift homes. "But there's something stronger than fear that drives me to stay here – the scent of my ancestors and an attachment dating back hundreds of years – even if I pay the price with my blood."
As the masked men run towards us, we pull back to the road and drive a safe distance away.
Within minutes, some of Brahim's neighbours from the surrounding farms and villages gather with catapults and stones to confront the attackers.
Brahim Hamaiel stands next to the broken remains of his olive trees
Vegetation by the side of the road is set on fire, its smoke signalling the site of the confrontation, as settlers on a quad bike chase away a volunteer emergency crew trying to reach a farmhouse in the middle of the field.....
