Palestinian injured and two detained in attacks on olive harvesters in the West Bank

Attacks in several districts of Nablus and Ramallah

A Palestinian was injured and two others were detained on Friday during attacks by the Israeli army and settlers on olive harvesters in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian sources told the Anadolu agency. In the town of Burqa northwest of Nablus, a 36-year-old Palestinian suffered bruises and other injuries after being beaten; the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its crews treated the man, who had fallen from a height during the attack.

Farmers driven off their fields

In Beit Dajan east of Nablus, settlers attacked farmers harvesting olives in the northern part of the town, prevented them from continuing their work and forced them to leave the fields. In Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya south of Nablus, soldiers chased harvesters in the southern and eastern parts of the village and threw sound grenades in their direction; according to local sources, more than 30 Palestinians were forced to leave agricultural land located just tens of meters from residential homes. In the Al-Masudiya area northwest of Nablus, settlers broke into a house, damaged the door and property and cut power lines.

Incidents in Jenin and Ramallah

In the Jenin governorate, settlers entered the eastern part of Jaba early on Friday, stole equipment from an auto repair shop, damaged three cars by smashing windows and puncturing tires, and also stole a car stereo, other equipment and two sheep. The mayor of Jaba, Mohammad Al-Baddad, told the official Palestinian agency Wafa that the attackers arrived by car. In the central West Bank, according to local sources, settlers attacked olive harvesters and a foreign solidarity activist in Kafr Malik northeast of Ramallah; the activist was beaten, and Israeli forces detained two Palestinians who were harvesting olives east of the town. In Al-Mughayyir, settlers attacked harvesters near the homes of the Jabr family and opened fire toward Palestinian homes.

October statistics

On October 22, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that from October 1 to 21 it documented 409 attacks on olive farmers, trees, land and agricultural equipment in the West Bank: 317 of them were carried out by settlers and 92 by the Israeli army. The attacks included denying farmers access to their fields, forcing them off the land, stealing crops and damaging trees and equipment. According to the agency, army raids and settler attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have intensified since October 2023; killings, detentions, home demolitions, arson, bulldozing of land and the displacement of Palestinian communities have been reported.