This article was originally published by Ma'an News and is republished with permission.

An olive grove in Bethlehem is seen after it experienced flooding over the weekend. (Mimmi Nietula, Maan Images)

Flooding left cows dead and farms swamped in the Palestinian villages of Ein Shibli and Beit Hasan in the northern West Bank on Sunday afternoon.

Hamed Abu Hatab, a resident of Ein Shibli, which is northeast of the city of Nablus, told Ma'an that rainwater washing down from the Tammun Mountains caused a local river to swell by six meters, overwhelming the main bridge in the village and damaging farms.

After a hot and dry summer, the first major rainfall of the season took place over the weekend.

Abu Hatab said that his village itself did not experience heavy rain. This is the first time the community has seen flooding of this magnitude.

Mahmoud Abu Hatab, the head of village council in Ein Shibli, said that main road to nearby valleys had been closed for more than two hours due to flooding.

Sa'id Shtayah, a member of the Beit Hasan village council, confirmed to Ma'an that parts of the town were flooded. The Palestinian Civil Defense was called to the town.