Settler and IDF Violence Against Palestinian Olive Farmers Documented

The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission documented 12 incidents of settler and Israeli military violence against olive farmers and their property across five West Bank governorates within a 12-hour period on Thursday. The incidents, which occurred between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Wednesday during the olive harvest season, included the arrest of 14 foreign solidarity activists, injuries to farmers from beatings and pepper spray, as well as crop theft, tree vandalism, and land bulldozing. The commission stated that the events took place in the Ramallah and al-Bireh, Hebron, Nablus, Salfit, and Jenin governorates, amid escalating settler violence and Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank.

In the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate, settlers reportedly attacked olive pickers in Kafr Malik, pursuing farmers and releasing livestock into their agricultural lands. In the village of Lubban al-Gharbi, settlers expelled farmers and foreign activists from their land, detaining 14 activists and their phones before Israeli police arrived and arrested them. In Nablus, settlers entered agricultural areas in Jabal al-Arama near Beita, preventing access, and attacked farmers in the Jar'a area of Jamma'in, injuring one farmer with a head blow. Other farmers sustained injuries from beatings and the use of pepper spray and tear gas.

In the Hebron governorate, settlers stole olives from trees belonging to Ahmed Aksh al-Harini in the al-Rahiniya area south of Yatta and damaged trees. In Salfit, settlers stole olives from agricultural lands between the villages of Marda and Yasuf and fired live ammunition at a farmer who discovered them. In Jenin, Israeli forces continued to bulldoze agricultural land between the villages of Turra and Umm Dar. The commission characterized these actions as part of a systematic effort to deny Palestinian farmers access to and benefit from their land, warning that the escalating violence, including live fire and property destruction, poses a direct threat to farmers and activists, causing long-term economic and environmental damage and potentially leading to permanent displacement.

Separately, the Palestine Information Observatory documented 1,156 settler violations in the West Bank during October, resulting in three Palestinian deaths and 77 injuries. These violations included assaults, theft, property damage, and agricultural destruction.