Israeli settler attacks ‘part of state-backed campaign’ to displace Palestinians
That’s according to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, which has documented dozens of incidents of Israeli settler and military violence against Palestinians during the olive harvest.
“Dozens of harvesters were injured, some requiring medical treatment. Cars were set on fire, equipment was destroyed, herds were harmed, and harvests were stolen. Many reported experiencing significant psychological distress due to the assaults,” the group said.
“This is not ‘isolated violence’ but part of a state-backed campaign, carried out with full impunity, to dispossess Palestinians of their land,” BTselem stressed.
“These attacks target Palestinian livelihood and their very right to the land, and are integral to Israel’s ongoing efforts to ethnically cleanse the West Bank."
Throughout October 2025, at the start of the olive harvest, dozens of documented incidents across the West Bank in which settlers and soldiers attacked Palestinian farmers, stole crops, vandalized property, cut down trees, and blocked access to farmland.
Dozens of harvesters… pic.twitter.com/jX0Sk2RndE
— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) October 29, 2025
Israeli settler attacks ramp up amid Palestinian olive harvest
As we’ve been reporting, Palestinians across the occupied West Bank have faced a wave of Israeli settler violence as they try to reach their olive groves.
According to the UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA), about 86 harvest-related settler attacks that caused casualties or property damage have been recorded since the beginning of October. That includes attacks on farmers, theft of crops, and vandalism of olive trees.
Here’s a quick look at OCHA’s latest figures on the attacks:
- Fifty Palestinian villages and towns have been affected by the wave of violence, OCHA says.
- At least 112 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli settlers and troops during the harvest, while more than 3,000 olive trees and saplings have been vandalised.
- In the same period last year, about 50 Palestinians were injured in Israeli settler and military attacks, and more than 1,000 olive trees and saplings vandalised.
- In a recent attack, masked settlers attacked Palestinian families with stones and sticks near the villages of Turmus Aya, al-Mughayyir and Khirbet Abu Falah on October 19. They also “set two olive trees and four vehicles on fire, and stole at least three bags of harvested olives”.
Israeli border police speak with Israeli settlers attempting to disrupt the olive harvest at a grove near the Palestinian village of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank
Israeli forces storm towns of Hizma, al-Issawiya in occupied West Bank
Israeli troops have raided the towns of Hizma and al-Issawiya northeast of occupied East Jerusalem.
According to the Wafa news agency, citing local sources, in Hizma soldiers stopped and searched several vehicles, checking the identities of passengers.
In the town of al-Issawiya, a number of Palestinians were detained and their phones searched. Soldiers also reportedly sent threatening voice messages through the phones of a number of residents to groups in the town via communication applications.
