A wave of unrelenting violence carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank has left at least 19 separate attacks recorded by midday Friday, according to on-the-ground monitoring reports.
The attacks, documented by the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission – a Palestinian authority tasked with tracking Israeli settlement expansion and the construction of the separation barrier – range from direct assaults on olive harvesters to arson against native trees, theft of agricultural crops and livestock, and unprovoked attacks on civilian residents.
Commission officials warn that this outbreak of violence marks a clear escalation of settler aggression during the annual olive harvest, a period that represents the most critical source of annual income for thousands of Palestinian families across the territory. Specific incidents have been documented across multiple communities: In the village of Tell, settlers burned a civilian vehicle during an attack on local farming families; in Qusra, more than 50 mature olive trees were maliciously uprooted. Attacks on harvesters have also been reported in Jurish, Beita, An-Nakura, Birzeit, Deir Ibzi, and Fara’ata.
In separate, unrelated incidents across the territory, settlers opened fire on Palestinian civilians in Deir Ballut, while a farmer was injured in an attack in Kafr ad-Dik. East of Hebron in the village of Birin, an elderly Palestinian woman was wounded after settlers released their dogs on a group of local farmers. Other documented attacks include the theft of sheep in Ein Qiniya, and a violent assault in Yabrud where a Palestinian man and his young son were beaten before their vehicle was stolen. Viral video footage from the Yabrud incident shows two settler-driven vehicles blocking the Palestinians’ car before the assailants exited their vehicles, beat the father, forced both him and his son out of the vehicle, and drove off with it. Settlers have also targeted and damaged civilian vehicles in the communities of Sarada and Al-Rayhan.
The Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission warns that the ongoing attacks are making it exponentially more dangerous and difficult for Palestinian farmers to access and tend their land during this critical harvest season. “The repeated nature of these attacks, which often occur with the direct participation or implicit protection of Israeli occupation forces in multiple locations, creates a coercive environment designed to strip Palestinians of the ability to benefit from their own land and push them to abandon their properties,” the commission said in a statement. It added that targeting the olive harvest season directly violates Palestinian rights to land ownership, work, and personal security.
While settler violence against Palestinian communities has long been a regular part of daily life in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, the frequency and severity of attacks has spiked dramatically since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023. Settlers now carry out near-daily assaults on Palestinian towns and villages, including arson, property vandalism, physical attacks, and efforts to force civilian displacement – and these acts very frequently occur under the protection of Israeli military forces.
Attacks typically intensify during the October olive harvest, a period that is economically make-or-break for Palestinian agricultural communities across the West Bank. According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 51 separate settler attacks that caused Palestinian casualties or property damage were documented between September 15 and September 21 alone. During that single week, at least 800 olive, fruit, and palm trees were damaged, uprooted, or burned by settlers, OCHA reported.
Earlier this year, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory characterized the surge in settler violence against Palestinian civilians as unprecedented and sustained. The commission found that the Israeli government provides direct support for these attacks through financial backing, logistical assistance, and military protection. “Settler violence is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support, enable, and protect these actions,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the UN commission.
OCHA data shows that more than 1,600 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties, property damage, or both were recorded between January 1 and the end of September of this year. That averages out to 6.7 attacks per day, up from 5 attacks per day in 2025 – a year that saw 1,836 total documented attacks. In comparison, roughly 1,500 attacks were recorded in 2024, and just 853 in 2022, marking a clear year-over-year upward trend in violence.