Tensions intensified in the occupied West Bank on Thursday as Israeli soldiers intervened during confrontations between Israeli settlers and Palestinian farmers harvesting olives, amid mounting reports of settler violence during this year’s olive-picking season.

In the village of Saeer, in the southern West Bank, Israeli troops were seen pushing Israeli settlers away as they tried to approach Palestinian farmers.

“Go out,” one soldier shouted in Hebrew, as troops declared the area a “military closed zone,” ordering both settlers and Palestinians to leave.

Palestinian farmers continued collecting olives from their groves.

Faisal Trawrah, a Palestinian farmer carrying a ladder, accused Israeli forces of protecting settlers while forcing residents off their land.

“The army protects the settlers and forces the residents to leave their lands so that the settlers can take control of the land and the olive trees,” he said

Despite the tensions, Palestinian farmers continued to harvest, joined by a delegation of European diplomats visiting the town of Birzeit to show solidarity.

The group included EU Representative to the West Bank and Gaza, Ambassador Alexandre Stutzmann, who emphasized Europe’s support for a two state solution.

“We are pushing and promoting a two-state solution, which depends on realities on the ground,” Stutzmann said. “Small issues like the olive harvest should be unimpeded, that’s why we are here, out of solidarity.”

The annual olive harvest, a vital part of the Palestinian economy and cultural life, has frequently been marred by confrontations between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, especially in areas near settlements.

AP video by Imad Isseid and Amer Abdeen