A Palestinian Family Goes to Pick Up Olives. It Ends in an Execution by Israeli Soldiers

Hanan Abu Salameh, 59, was gathering olives with her family in their own grove near the West Bank village of Faqqua, near Jenin, when an Israeli military truck pulled over and a soldier opened gunfire, says her son Fares, 40. His father waved at the man to stop shooting but he went on. Trying to escape, the family ran to their tractor. Hanan fell down on her back. When Fares and Hossam hurried to pick her up, they saw a wound in her chest. They rushed her to the hospital, but it was too late. This is the family's account of how their first harvest day ended last week. Although occupation authorities had explicitly permitted Faqqua farmers to pick olives, this harvest ended in bloodshed, killing a mother of seven and grandmother of 14. Hanan's murderer is still walking free and might not even be held to account for her death.

Faqqua is a remote, peaceful northernmost village in the West Bank. The view here is gorgeous: a fertile region with traditional farming and small villages, olive groves and vegetable gardens, a Luna Park and a hotel; no settlers and very few soldiers. This is what the West Bank could look like had it been left to its owners. The separation barrier here was built on stolen lands as houses of Ma'ale Gilboa kibbutz popped up on the other side.