Why settler intimidation of West Bank farmers is about far more than the olive harvest

The symbolism of the olive tree for Palestinian nationalism has fed into the rise in violence and damage in the last year

The olive trees cover the dry, rocky slopes around Deir Istiya, spreading deep into the valley to its west, lining the main roads, filling the gardens, and shading its graveyards.

But many farmers in the historical Palestinian town, deep in the occupied West Bank, say that this year they have been unable to harvest much of the vital olive crop, blaming an intensifying campaign of intimidation and violence by people from the half-dozen Israeli settlements and outposts nearby.