Israeli settlers and troops attack olive harvesters and a wedding convoy in West Bank

Israeli settlers and troops target olive harvesters, wedding convoy in West Bank attacks Israeli settlers carried out a series of attacks on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank on Friday, targeting olive harvesters, a family and a wedding procession, while Israeli troops raided a town near Hebron, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. In the village of Burham, north of Ramallah, armed Israeli settlers opened fire on farmers harvesting their olives, which took place under the protection of Israeli forces, locals said. The settlers also stole and damaged farming equipment. East of Ramallah, a group of settlers attacked Palestinian man Nayef al-Kaabneh and his two children in their car near the town of al-Taybeh, shortly after they left the al-Kaabneh Bedouin community. The settlers beat them and doused them with pepper spray, and all three were taken for treatment. Southeast of Bethlehem, Israeli settlers blocked vehicles in a wedding procession in the Abu Njeim area and harassed those taking part, a local source told Wafa. Separately, Israeli troops stormed the town of Idhna, west of Hebron, firing tear gas at passersby. Several Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation, local sources said. Palestinian farmers try to put out a fire sparked by Israeli tear gas during the olive harvest south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on 3 October 2026 (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

West Bank: Almost 20 Israeli settler attacks target Palestinians in day of mass violence Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 10/09/2026 - 13:59 Attacks on olive harvesters, farmers and their property come as settler violence escalates across the occupied territory during the annual harvest season A Palestinian girl walks past a vehicle that was burned by Israeli settlers the previous night, in Aqraba in the occupied West Bank on 6 October 2026 (John Wessels/AFP) Off At least 19 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians were recorded by midday on Friday, according to field reports, in a wave of violence across the occupied West Bank.  The Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, a Palestinian body monitoring settlements and the separation wall, said the attacks included assaults on olive harvesters, the burning of trees, the theft of crops and livestock, and assaults on Palestinian residents. It added that the incidents point to an escalation in settler violence during the annual olive harvest, a vital source of income for many Palestinian families. In Tell, settlers burned a vehicle during an assault on farmers. In Qusra, they uprooted more than 50 olive trees. Olive harvesters were also attacked in Jurish, Beita, An-Nakura, Birzeit, Deir Ibzi and Fara'ata, the commission said. In separate incidents, settlers opened fire in Deir Ballut, while a farmer was wounded in Kafr ad-Dik. An elderly woman was also wounded in Birin, east of Hebron, after settlers set their dogs on farmers, according to the statement. Other reported attacks included the theft of sheep in Ein Qiniya and an assault on a Palestinian man and his child in Yabrud, in which their vehicle was also stolen. Settlers also targeted vehicles in Sarada and Al-Rayhan. Video footage of the incident in Yabrud showed two cars driven by settlers blocking the Palestinians' vehicle. The settlers then got out, beat the man, forced him and his son from the car, and drove away in it. The commission warned that the attacks were making it increasingly difficult for Palestinians to access and cultivate their land during the harvest season. “The recurrence of these attacks, with the participation or protection of occupation forces at several locations, reinforces an environment of coercion intended to prevent Palestinians from benefiting from their land and to push them to abandon it,” the commission said. “Targeting the olive harvest season violates Palestinians’ rights to their land, work and security,” it added. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has long been a feature of life in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, but it has intensified sharply since Israel began its genocide in Gaza in October 2023. Settlers carry out near-daily attacks on Palestinian towns and villages, including arson, vandalism, physical assaults and forced displacement, often under the protection of the Israeli military. Settler violence on the rise  Attacks frequently intensify during the olive harvest, which typically takes place around October and is a crucial period for Palestinian agricultural communities across the West Bank. Between 15 and 21 September, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) documented 51 settler attacks that resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage.  'The settlers are in control': How the West Bank is being ethnically cleansed Read More » At least 800 olive, fruit and palm trees were damaged, uprooted or burned during that week, according to Ocha. Earlier this year, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory described the escalation in settler violence against Palestinians as unprecedented and sustained. The commission said the Israeli government supports the attacks through financial backing, logistical assistance and military protection. “Violence by settlers is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support, enable and protect their actions,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the commission. According to Ocha, more than 1,600 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties, property damage or both were recorded between the beginning of January and the end of September. That amounts to an average of 6.7 attacks per day, compared with five per day in 2025, when 1,836 attacks were recorded. Around 1,500 attacks were recorded in 2024, compared with 853 in 2022. Occupation Almost 20 Israeli settler attacks target Palestinians in day of mass violence News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Palestinian killed during settler attack on olive farmers in West Bank Submitted by Fayha Shalash on Wed, 10/07/2026 - 14:32 Ali Hassan al-Bazari, 44, dies after settlers open fire on farmers near Burqa, as witnesses say Israeli soldiers protected the attackers and blocked ambulances from reaching the wounded A son of Ali al-Bazari mourns during his father's funeral at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus after the latter was reportedly killed during an Israeli settler raid in the village of Burqa on 7 October 2026 (Zain Jaafar/AFP) Off A Palestinian man was killed and nine others wounded on Wednesday in an attack by Israeli settlers on farmers near the occupied West Bank town of Burqa. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 44-year-old Ali Hassan al-Bazari was killed as farmers attempted to harvest olives on their land between Burqa and the Ramin Plain, east of Tulkarm. Witnesses said Israeli soldiers were present and protected the settlers during the attack. It was not immediately clear whether al-Bazari was killed by settler or army fire. The ministry said nine Palestinians sustained injuries of varying severity, including one person who was critically wounded. Some of the injured were taken to Thabet Thabet Government Hospital in Tulkarm, while others were transported to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. A woman was among those wounded. The Ministry of Health said the Israeli army also assaulted ambulance crews near the Burqa Plain as they attempted to reach and evacuate the wounded from the Ramin Plain. Soldiers detained three paramedics and a volunteer, confiscated their ambulance keys and later released them, ordering them to leave the area. Shadi Abu Omar, a member of the Burqa Village Council, said the area where the attack took place is classified as Area B of the West Bank and is far from any Israeli settlements or settler outposts. Under the Oslo Accords, civil affairs in Area B are administered by the Palestinian Authority. Abu Omar said residents had gone to the area to harvest olives and were not expecting to encounter settlers. 'Settlers approached the harvesters, began beating them and then bound them' - Shadi Abu Omar, member of Burqa Village Council However, he said, a group of settlers arrived in a vehicle and opened fire on them. "After the shooting, the settlers approached the harvesters, began beating them and then bound them," he told Middle East Eye. "Among them was al-Bazari, who had been shot in the back. Despite bleeding from the wound, he, along with the other injured people, including a woman, was tied up." According to Abu Omar, the wounded lay bleeding for three hours because soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching them, assaulted medics and detained several of them. He said the attack took place in the presence of the Israeli army, which did not intervene to drive the settlers away. The settlers also blocked ambulance crews from reaching several of the wounded, threatening to shoot anyone who approached the scene and preventing their evacuation to hospital. Settler violence  The attack comes amid a surge in settler violence against Palestinians, particularly farmers, during the olive harvest season. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), more than 1,100 Palestinians were injured in settler-related attacks between the beginning of the year and early September. More than 1,000 of those injuries were directly attributed to settlers. Ocha data shows a sharp rise in injuries directly caused by settler attacks in recent years: from an average of one Palestinian injured every three days in 2020, to two a day in 2025 and more than three a day in 2026.  'The settlers are in control': How the West Bank is being ethnically cleansed Read More » The UN has also documented more than 1,300 incidents linked to settler attacks since the start of the year, affecting around 250 Palestinian communities across the West Bank. That amounts to more than six incidents a day. The incidents have included physical assaults, the burning and damaging of homes and vehicles, vandalism of property and farmland, and attacks on Palestinians attempting to reach their land. Attacks during the olive harvest are particularly significant. Ocha has identified access to agricultural land and livelihoods as a major context for settler violence, documenting injuries to farmers and the destruction of hundreds of olive trees and agricultural property across several towns. Salah al-Khawaja, director at the central office of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, said settlers in the West Bank increasingly act with impunity. He said settlers were carrying out killings in front of the media, shooting at farmers and burning farmland. "We are facing a government that supports terrorism and criminality, providing full backing to settlers because it is a terrorist government," he said. Occupation Ramallah, occupied Palestine News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

A Palestinian man was killed and nine people were injured during an Israeli settler attack followed by army intervention in an occupied West Bank village on Wednesday, according to the mayor and the Palestinian health ministry. The Palestinian health ministry said 44-year-old Ali al-Bazzari died and nine others were injured "as a result of an assault by occupation forces and settlers" on the village of Burqa, north of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Israeli soldiers and settlers kill Palestinian during olive harvest near Nablus Israeli soldiers and settlers opened fire on Palestinians gathering olives north of Nablus, killing a 44-year-old man and injuring 16 people, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports. Wafa identified the man as Ali Hassan Yosr Al-Bazzari and said a large group of settlers, accompanied by soldiers, attacked harvesters in the Sahl Ramin and Burqa plain. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams treated at least two people who were in critical condition after being shot. The attackers also beat olive pickers, and the injured included at least one woman.