Jakarta: Israeli police on Friday prevented hundreds of peace activists from reaching the village of Burin in the northern occupied West Bank to show solidarity with Palestinians.

According to Anadolu Agency, the left-wing Israeli rights group Peace Now reported that police intercepted hundreds of Israeli peace activists on Friday morning as they headed to a solidarity olive-harvest event in the village of Burin. The group noted that despite illegal settler vehicles being allowed to pass freely, the area commander issued an order preventing the activists' buses from continuing toward the Palestinian village.

In response to being blocked, Peace Now stated that the activists disembarked from the buses and began a demonstration, during which they condemned the 'ongoing settler violence and the government's continued failure to protect Palestinians from daily attacks.' The Israeli police claimed the demonstration was illegal and threatened to arrest its organizers, according to Peace Now.

The organization's director, Lior Amihai, commented on the situation, saying, 'While seven buses of peace activists are being blocked, settlers move about freely.' Amihai added that the demonstration was against both settler violence and the obstruction of peace activists seeking to stand with their Palestinian partners.

The West Bank's olive harvest season, which started in October, has been marked by a surge in assaults against Palestinian farmers by settlers. There has been an escalation in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza war in October 2023, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,070 Palestinians and injuries to 10,300 others, as per Palestinian figures.

In a significant ruling last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.