ع
Dozens of masked settlers clad in black descended on the village of Abu Falah northeast of Ramallah where Palestinians were harvesting olives and launched a coordinated assault that involved throwing rocks using slingshots and clubs while setting groves on fire according to a Reuters dispatch from the scene. Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine sustained multiple injuries after she fell and was kicked repeatedly by attackers as independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel described the events to Al Jazeera. Palestinian medics reported that two people were taken to hospitals in the Ramallah area with one local man sustaining a gunshot wound to the thigh from Israeli soldiers who arrived during the confrontation. Some 80 settlers some carrying gas canisters came from a hill above the terraced olive grove where the villagers had gathered for the annual harvest Reuters witnesses added.
Levine spoke from her hospital bed in stable condition and recounted how she was pushed to the ground during the melee. “I was attacked, pushed to the ground. Luckily I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking me and kicking me,” she said in remarks carried by Reuters. The 64-year-old American journalist added that the assault ended when Palestinian colleagues intervened allowing medics to transport her first to a clinic in Abu Falah and then to Ramallah where she was treated for her injuries. Video footage reviewed by news outlets showed Levine lying on a dirt path with her hands protecting her face as at least three settlers surrounded her before the intervention.
A Palestinian man shot during the incident was attended by medics and Israeli soldiers near the scene according to photographs and reporting by the Associated Press. Local witnesses told Al Jazeera that more settlers arrived armed with machine guns and that the sound of live gunfire echoed through the area prompting everyone to flee. The attack followed a similar incident earlier that morning in the Turmus Ayya area where settlers burned three cars after targeting another group of olive harvesters Reuters reported. Palestinian officials have documented repeated interference with the harvest which serves as a vital economic activity for communities across the territory.
Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has surged with at least 170 attacks since September 27 around the start of the annual olive harvest according to Yesh Din an Israeli settlements monitoring group cited in Reuters coverage. The latest assault forms part of a pattern that has included tree burning crop theft and physical assaults on farmers as recorded by the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission which noted at least 19 such incidents on a single Friday in early October. A Palestinian man was killed in a related attack near Burqa on October 7 during which both settlers and soldiers opened fire according to the Palestinian health ministry as detailed by Reuters. These events have occurred against the backdrop of broader displacement in which the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has tracked thousands of Palestinians forced from their land since 2023.
The Israeli military has not issued an immediate response to requests for comment on Friday’s events in Abu Falah. Nathaniel who was present described the violence in the West Bank as being at or near an all-time high right now in his interview with Al Jazeera. The olive harvest which traditionally brings communities together has become increasingly restricted with monitors documenting prevention of access alongside direct attacks in multiple villages this season. Economic losses from damaged trees and stolen crops have reached significant levels in recent weeks according to Palestinian agricultural authorities.
Yesh Din data shared via social media platforms indicate that more than 100 incidents of settler and soldier violence linked to the olive harvest occurred in just 10 days of the season including physical assaults prevention of harvesting and destruction of trees. The West Bank is home to some 500000 settlers and at least 3 million Palestinians with the settlements deemed illegal under international law by UN bodies and most countries although Israel views the territory as disputed. International calls for accountability have followed several of the harvest-related assaults though responses from authorities have remained limited in recent months.
