Settlers reportedly attack Palestinians in olive groves as harvest season begins

At least one Palestinian was injured Friday in a settler attack in the village of Beita, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, the Red Crescent said, as Palestinian media reported several clashes in the territory.

Footage from Beita showed an armed settler, apparently a member of a security squad from one of the nearby settlements, telling Palestinians and accompanying activists that they were not allowed in the area.

Soldiers later removed the Palestinians, with footage showing troops firing tear gas.

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According to Palestinian media, settlers also attacked Palestinians who were harvesting olives near the village of Asira al-Shamaliya, north of Nablus, while soldiers reportedly prevented Palestinians from harvesting near the Ramallah-area village of Ni’lin.

No injuries were reported in either incident.

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On Thursday, settlers were also filmed vandalizing and stealing olives from trees belonging to the nearby village of al-Mughayyir, as IDF soldiers looked on without acting.

Such acts have intensified in recent days amid the start of the annual olive harvest season, which has previously seen an uptick in attacks.

Palestinians are barred from harvesting olives in some areas of the West Bank, free to do so in other areas, and required to receive prior authorization from Israel’s Civil Administration in others.

It was not immediately clear which restrictions applied to the areas where the Palestinians were trying to harvest.

Settler violence in the West Bank has risen sharply since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza.

On Thursday, the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry said 51-year-old Mashhour Yassin was shot dead by settlers near the central West Bank village of Yasuf.

Israeli security forces said soldiers had opened fire on Palestinians in the area who were throwing stones at Israeli citizens, with one minor lightly wounded by the stones.

Earlier this week, the IDF said a violent raid by more than 100 settlers in the Nablus-area village of Jalud thwarted a military operation to secure the return home of a family that had been displaced by settler violence.

Critics accuse the government of condoning and even encouraging the violence, which has led to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian families.

President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday said settler violence “can be stopped” and accused the government of failing to do everything it can to stop it.

On Thursday, Herzog spoke with Ahmed al-Hussein, a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem who was assaulted by an ultra-Orthodox mob outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate earlier this week.

Husseini’s assault was livestreamed on social media, with the person filming the incident heard declaring in delight, “Wow, they’re f**cking up an Arab.”

“I wanted to express my deep sorrow to you,” Herzog said, according to a readout from the President’s Residence. “I was truly saddened to see what happened to you, and I think the entire people of Israel were deeply pained to see this incident. This should never happen. No elderly person, and no person whatsoever, should be treated this way. I strongly condemn the violence against you.”

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