Israeli ex-generals condemn settler violence, help Palestinian farmers

A group of senior Israeli ex-military officials helped Palestinian farmers on Tuesday to harvest olives, in a gesture of solidarity amid an upsurge in extremist settler violence targeting Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. "When I see what is going on here, when I see these guys come... and hit women and kids, it reminds me of stories from my parents from the time when the Jewish people suffered," said former Major General Eyal Ben-Reuven, who compared the settler attacks to pogroms. Ben-Reuven said he began organising a group of around 30 senior military officials - including six generals - several months ago, following an increase in settler violence that many Palestinians say is enabled by the Israeli military. "Occupation is the main problem of Israeli society. I believe we must deal with it. We cannot ignore it. We must try to solve it together with the Palestinians," said former Colonel Doron Meinert. Reporting by Reuters