Settler Attacks Hit West Bank Olive Harvest: The Numbers Behind a Violent Season

Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers in several places across the occupied West Bank on Friday, burning cars and trees and injuring farmers as well as Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, according to the Guardian, the BBC and Al Jazeera. The assault near the village of Abu Falah, close to Ramallah, came after a month of rising settler violence during the annual harvest.

For many Palestinian families the harvest is a key source of income, and the figures reported so far point to both more violence and tighter limits on where farmers can work.

The numbers behind the harvest season

• At least 80 settlers in Abu Falah. The Guardian reported that the group, some carrying firearms or clubs, gathered to stop farmers from picking. Al Jazeera put the number at approximately 80.
• At least 170 attacks since Sept. 27. The Israeli rights group Yesh Din counted these since around the start of the harvest, according to the Guardian.
• Deaths and injuries: counts differ. Palestinian authorities say at least four Palestinians have been killed and more than 100 injured over the past month, the Guardian reported. The UN says one Palestinian has been killed and more than 120 injured in settler attacks on this year's harvest, according to the BBC.
• Injured in Abu Falah: six or 12. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported at least six injured, per the Guardian. A local official told the BBC that 12 Palestinians were hurt, including four dual Palestinian American citizens.
• About 8,800 hectares (21,800 acres). This is the farmland in Area C that Palestinians may not enter this year without Israeli military approval, a 30% increase from last year, the Guardian reported.
• 1,070 hectares to 680 hectares. Peace Now says this is how much the military cut the land closed to Israeli citizens, from 2025 to 2026, to prevent settler violence.

What happened in Abu Falah

Witnesses said the settlers used slingshots to throw rocks at farmers within view of Israeli military vehicles. Some Palestinians then picked up rocks to defend themselves, and the military fired tear gas in their direction, according to the Guardian and Al Jazeera. A BBC team that witnessed one of the attacks saw settlers set fire to groups of olive trees and saw farmers retreat as Israeli forces arrived. It was unclear to the BBC whether settlers or soldiers fired the live ammunition heard in the fields.

Levine, who was wearing a helmet and flak jacket, was beaten for more than 10 minutes, according to witnesses cited by the Guardian. She told the BBC she was kicked repeatedly while trying to hold on to her camera and bag. The Guardian reported that settlers took her passport, phone, wallet and equipment. She said from a hospital bed in Ramallah that the protective gear likely saved her, and that the attack ended when Palestinian colleagues intervened.

The Washington Post said she was clearly marked as a journalist. Executive editor Matt Murray said the newspaper was outraged and wants a thorough investigation. The Israeli Foreign Press Association said its repeated calls for action against attacks on journalists had been ignored by Israeli authorities.

Hours earlier, settlers burned three cars near the village of Turmus Ayya after attacking people harvesting olives, the Guardian reported. The rights group B'Tselem shared videos of bags of olives being taken from Palestinians to Israeli olive presses. Activist Sarit Michaeli said the theft of crops was on a scale "never seen before in my 22-year history of working on this issue."

How officials responded

The Israel Defense Forces said troops were sent to the area after a report of a violent confrontation, that a female journalist was injured, and that all circumstances would be examined, according to the BBC. A U.S. State Department spokesperson told the BBC the U.S. condemns criminal violence by any party in the West Bank and calls for investigations, arrests and convictions. A U.S. embassy spokesperson in Jerusalem told the Guardian it was aware of the reports but would not comment further, citing privacy laws.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has at times condemned the violence, which he attributes to about 100 settlers, but has taken few steps to stop it, the Guardian reported. Rights groups told the paper that settlers rarely face accountability and that the army tends to step in only when Palestinians try to defend themselves.

Why it matters for Palestinian farmers and beyond

The olive harvest has become more important since Israel revoked work permits for many West Bank Palestinians after the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, the Guardian reported. Farmers now face violence in the fields as well as limits on which land they can reach. The BBC described farmers racing to strip trees at sunrise and several villages pooling labor for protection.

The violence is also a diplomatic issue. Four of the injured at Abu Falah held U.S. citizenship, and an American journalist was among the victims. The Guardian noted that the surge comes as Israel's elections approach at the end of October. The UN and most countries consider settlements illegal under international law, and the BBC added that outposts are also illegal under Israeli law, though many receive state support.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Al Jazeera, The Guardian, BBC News