Palestinian families harvesting olives in the West Bank faced sudden attacks by Israeli settlers clad in black and bearing weapons. Ilham Al-Bazari witnessed her husband shot and her nephew beaten; she shielded him, breaking her own arm. Her cousin, off-duty PA captain Ali Al-Bazari, was shot while rushing to help and died on Oct. 7, becoming the first fatality of the season.
The Israeli military arrived but refused to allow an ambulance, witnesses said. The violence marks the most brutal olive season in recent history, reflecting heightened turmoil in the occupied West Bank since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. As war raged in Gaza, settler expansion accelerated, pushing Palestinians off their land through intimidation and force.
With as many as 100,000 families relying on harvest revenue, this year's groves, typically peaceful social and economic rites, have become sites of frequent confrontations. Rights groups and the U.N. document hundreds of attacks, including trees burned and farmers assaulted. In recent weeks, three Palestinians were killed, many wounded, and trees destroyed.
The Netanyahu government has faced accusations of enabling what critics call ethnic cleansing, though an office spokesman denied state sponsorship of settler violence, stating perpetrators are prosecuted. Entire communities have been evacuated as settlers establish outposts with little interference from troops.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing