Sat Oct 25 17:32:02 UTC 2025: Headline: Surge in Violence: Palestinians Face Over 150 Attacks During Olive Harvest Season
West Bank – Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank are facing a wave of intensified violence from Israeli settlers and military forces during this year’s olive harvest season, a critical period for Palestinian livelihoods. According to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, over 150 attacks have been recorded since the beginning of the harvest, which typically starts in early October.
The attacks, 141 of which were carried out by settlers, included physical assaults, pepper spray attacks, and confiscation of tools, forcing many farmers off their land. On Saturday alone, at least three Palestinians were injured in Deir Nidham, northwest of Ramallah, when settlers attacked them with rifle butts. Israeli forces reportedly intervened to protect the settlers and detained a Palestinian resident.
This year’s violence follows a surge in Israeli military and settler attacks across the West Bank since October 2023, coinciding with the war in Gaza. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 10,000 injured in such attacks.
Harvesting olives is a vital economic activity for Palestinians, with 80,000 to 100,000 families relying on olives and olive oil as a primary or secondary source of income, according to UN figures. The attacks disrupt this vital activity and threaten Palestinian livelihoods.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh reported that the settler attacks often occur with the protection of Israeli soldiers, some of whom participate in the violence. She argued that the settlers are “emboldened” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government.
Human rights organizations accuse the Israeli army of complicity in the attacks, noting that settlers often operate with impunity. The attacks are seen as an effort to force Palestinians out of their homes and lands. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees notes that settlers have targeted Palestinian property more than 2,400 times in the last two years, displacing at least 3,055 people.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in over 250 settlements and settlement outposts across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are considered illegal under international law.
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