Ramallah: Illegal Israeli settlers staged 158 assaults against Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank since the start of the olive harvest season in October, according to a local official. Muayyar Shaaban, who heads the Palestinian Authority's Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, said field teams documented 17 attacks by the Israeli army and 141 others by illegal settlers.
According to Anadolu Agency, these attacks ranged from violent physical assaults, arrests, movement restrictions, denial of access, intimidation, and harassment to direct gunfire. Shaaban provided further details, noting that 56 attacks occurred in the northern city of Nablus, 51 assaults in the central city of Ramallah, and 15 in Hebron in the southern West Bank.
Shaaban highlighted the widespread nature of these incidents, with 57 documented cases of movement restrictions and intimidation against olive pickers, as well as 22 instances of beating and physical assault against farmers. In addition, 795 olive trees were destroyed in 74 attacks directly targeting lands planted with olives.
The Palestinian official described the current olive harvest season as one of the most challenging and perilous in decades, attributing this to the escalating attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers. Shaaban accused the Israeli occupation of systematically targeting the olive harvest season, aiming to undermine the Palestinians' deep emotional and historical connection to their land as part of a broader strategy to control Palestinian geography and restrict access to their lands.
Palestinian figures indicate that illegal Israeli settlers have carried out 7,154 attacks against Palestinians and their property across the West Bank since October 2023, resulting in 33 Palestinian deaths and the displacement of 33 Bedouin communities. In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.