AhlulBayt News Agency: Dozens of Palestinians, foreign activists, and journalists were injured on Saturday as Israeli army-backed settlers launched coordinated assaults across the occupied West Bank.
The largest number of casualties—17 people—occurred when settlers raided the outskirts of Abu Falah village, northeast of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency. Among the wounded were foreign activists.
Wafa also reported that settlers set fire to a home, while Israeli forces attacked residents who had gathered near the scene. No injuries were reported from that incident.
In a separate wave of violence, settlers attacked Palestinian farmers, journalists, and foreign activists participating in the annual olive harvest across several towns, leaving many with bruises and broken bones.
The most severe attacks took place in Beita, south of Nablus, where settlers from nearby outposts ambushed harvesters in the Qamas Mountain area, according to deputy mayor Mohammad Hamayel.
Eyewitnesses said settlers armed with sticks and stones assaulted people as they gathered olives from family groves.
Among those attacked were foreign solidarity activists, paramedics, and journalists, including Reuters reporter Raneen Sawafta and two Al Jazeera correspondents.
Local health officials confirmed that medics treated 11 injured individuals.
The violence extended to Burin village, where settlers injured a Palestinian farmer and four international activists during olive picking, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported.
Observers noted that settlers have long targeted olive harvesters, viewing the tradition as both a source of livelihood and a symbol of resistance.
In Furush Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, settlers assaulted farmers and international volunteers working on village lands, though no injuries were reported, according to Bedouin rights group Al-Baidar.
Meanwhile, settlers cut down several olive trees in Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah.
Earlier that morning, Israeli forces beat and wounded a Palestinian man in the town of Yatta, south of al-Khalil (Hebron), Wafa reported.
The United Nations has raised alarm over a sharp escalation in settler violence against Palestinians, warning that the scale of attacks has reached its highest level in nearly twenty years.
During a Friday press briefing, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq cited data from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), describing a dramatic rise in both the frequency and severity of settler violence.
According to Haq, OCHA documented 264 settler attacks in October alone, involving casualties, property damage, or both.
The UN official said this marked the highest monthly toll in nearly two decades, with violence now averaging more than eight incidents per day since 2006.
/129
Your Comment