West Bank Olive Season Turns Violent
Settler violence and demolition orders have intensified across the occupied territory during the harvest.
By Rafael Collins ·
Three Palestinians suffered serious injuries after Israeli settlers attacked them with clubs near Salfit in the central West Bank. Local sources told Wafa that the victims were struck in the Wadi al-Shaer area, sustaining severe trauma to their heads, abdomens, and lower spines. One of the men required treatment for a broken jaw.
Violence spread to the town of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah, where settlers targeted farmers gathering their olive harvest. The attackers seized one of the farmers' vehicles in the process. In Jerusalem, Israeli authorities issued demolition and stop-work notices for four residential and agricultural structures in the Abu al-Nuwar community near al-Eizariya.
The Palestinian-run Jerusalem Governorate stated that these notices follow the recent closure of the only road leading to Abu al-Nuwar. Officials also closed access routes to the nearby areas of al-Wadi al-A'raj and al-Muntar.
Fourteen Western activists were deported after being arrested near Ramallah on Friday. The Human Rights Defenders Fund reported that the group was detained after settlers attacked them while they protected local farmers. Al Jazeera confirmed the deportations.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented 377 settler attacks related to the olive harvest between September 1 and November 2, 2026. This figure exceeds the total recorded for any previous harvest season.
