WEST BANK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and settlers carried out 12 attacks against Palestinian olive harvesters and their agricultural lands across five governorates in the West Bank on Thursday, according to the Palestinian Anti-Wall and Settlement Commission.
The commission documented the attacks between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., warning that the escalation threatens the olive harvest season and the livelihoods of thousands of Palestinian families.
The incidents included the arrest of foreign solidarity activists, physical assaults on farmers, the use of pepper spray and tear gas, live gunfire, crop theft, tree destruction, restrictions on access to farmland and continued land bulldozing.
Ramallah and al-Khalil: Farmers expelled, activists arrested and crops stolen
In Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian olive harvesters in Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah, after storming privately owned farmland and pursuing farmers as they harvested their crops.
In Sinjil and al-Mazra’a ash-Sharqiya, settlers released their livestock onto Palestinian agricultural land, causing further disruption to farming activities.
In the village of al-Lubban al-Gharbi, settlers, including an armed settler identified as Eitan Malt, expelled Palestinian olive harvesters and foreign solidarity activists from agricultural land.
According to the commission’s field report, settlers detained 14 foreign activists and confiscated their phones before summoning Israeli police, who arrested all 14.
Meanwhile, the IOF broke into agricultural lands between the villages of al-Mughayyir and Abu Falah, further restricting Palestinian farmers’ access to their fields.
In al-Khalil Governorate, settlers stole olives from trees belonging to Palestinian farmer Ahmad Akash al-Harini in the al-Rahniya area, south of Yatta.
The settlers also broke branches and damaged the trees, targeting both the current harvest and the farmers’ long-term agricultural resources.
Nablus and Salfit: Live gunfire, assaults and olive theft
In Nablus Governorate, Jewish settlers prevented Palestinian residents from reaching their farmland in the Jabal al-Arma area of Beita.
In the Jara’a area of Jamma’in, settlers attacked olive harvesters and physically assaulted Palestinian farmer Oqba Zeitawi and members of his family.
Zeitawi suffered a direct blow to the head, while several other farmers were injured after settlers beat them and sprayed pepper spray and tear gas in their direction.
In Salfit Governorate, settlers stole olives from Palestinian agricultural land in the al-Wad al-Ahmar area between Marda and Yasuf.
The settlers brought harvesting sheets and began collecting olives from fields whose Palestinian owners had already been prevented from accessing them.
During the theft, settlers opened fire with live ammunition toward a Palestinian farmer who encountered them on his land.
In Deir Istiya, settlers assaulted Wasim and Yousef, the sons of Palestinian resident Muhannad Hakim, and stole their bags of harvested olives along the road leading to the Israeli settlement of Yakir.
Further attacks were documented in Yasuf, where settlers prevented farmers from completing the olive harvest, depriving them of access to their crops.
Jenin: IOF continues bulldozing farmland
In Jenin Governorate, the IOF troops continued bulldozing agricultural land between the villages of Tura and Umm Dar, northwest of Jenin.
The operations damaged farmland and threatened its future agricultural use, adding to the economic losses suffered by Palestinian farmers.
The Anti-Wall and Settlement Commission said the simultaneous attacks demonstrate an escalation in settler assaults and Israeli military measures aimed at preventing Palestinians from accessing their land and benefiting from its produce.
Commission warns of long-term threat to Palestinian farmland
The commission emphasized that the theft of olives from fields inaccessible to their Palestinian owners reveals a direct connection between restrictions on farmers’ movement and the seizure of their crops.
It warned that the destruction of olive trees and bulldozing of agricultural land have consequences extending far beyond the current harvest season, potentially reducing agricultural productivity for years.
The commission also cautioned that continued settler attacks, Israeli military intervention and the arrest of foreign solidarity activists contribute to an environment of impunity.
Such practices, it warned, could transform temporary restrictions on olive harvesting into long-term exclusion of Palestinian farmers from their own land.
The commission called on the international community to take concrete measures to stop the attacks, protect Palestinian farmers and their property, and guarantee safe access to agricultural land.
It stressed the economic and social importance of the olive harvest for Palestinian families, as well as its deep-rooted connection to their land and heritage.
