ABNA24 - The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission documented 20 attacks by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and settlers against Palestinian farmers and their agricultural land during the olive harvest season on Friday, across six governorates in the occupied West Bank.
According to the commission, the attacks took place between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and included the arrest of Palestinians, international solidarity activists, and journalists; physical assaults on olive harvesters; the uprooting of trees; the bulldozing of agricultural land; and the theft of crops and property.
The IOF and settlers also prevented farmers from accessing their olive groves, while settlement outposts were expanded and new structures established on Palestinian agricultural land.
Ramallah: 17 arrested during olive harvest
In the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, the IOF arrested 17 people in the village of Kafr Ni’ma, west of Ramallah, including 12 international solidarity activists, two foreign journalists, and three Palestinians.
The arrests took place while the group was participating in the olive harvest in the al-Salam area near Jabal al-Risan.
According to the commission, Jewish settlers, accompanied and protected by Israeli forces, attacked farmers, activists, and journalists before IOF troops detained the 17 individuals and transferred them to a military base.
The Palestinian detainees were identified as Hala Abu Gharbiya, the campaign coordinator in Ramallah, and farmers Yaqoub Ataya and Mohammed Ataya.
In the village of Abu Falah, Israeli forces ordered dozens of international solidarity activists and several journalists to leave the area. They also prevented Palestinian farmers from continuing the olive harvest in the Hayt al-Mirmiya area east of the village.
Settlers also attacked agricultural land in Deir Ammar, forcing landowners to leave.
Meanwhile, armed settlers intercepted farmers from the village of Aboud as they headed toward the al-Dahadih area near Deir Abu Mashal.
The settlers prevented the farmers from reaching their land or returning home until residents of Deir Abu Mashal intervened and helped them return safely.
In Sinjil, settlers released their sheep into Palestinian agricultural fields.
The IOF also stormed farmland in al-Mughayyir, ordered residents to leave, and prevented them from harvesting olives while settlers allowed their livestock to graze in the fields.
In the village of Burqa, settlers stole metal sheets from Palestinian-owned agricultural land.
Al-Khalil: Olive trees uprooted, journalist assaulted and arrested
In the al-Khalil Governorate, settlers released their livestock into Palestinian fields and among olive trees in the Hawara area east of Yatta.
When Khalil Mahmoud al-Hamamda and his son Omar attempted to confront the settlers, Israeli forces broke into the area and arrested them during the incident.
In the town of Beit Awwa, Israeli bulldozers uprooted olive trees on Palestinian-owned land.
During the operation, Israeli forces and settlers assaulted journalist Musab Shawer before restraining him, blindfolding him, and placing him under arrest.
They also assaulted Palestinian resident Iyad Sweiti.
In the Hamroush area east of Sa’ir, settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while they were working on their land.
Nablus: Settlers steal olives and block access to farmland
In the Nablus Governorate, settlers stormed the al-Masoudiya area and stole olives from a farm belonging to Fadi Masoud.
Near Mount Ebal, north of Nablus, the IOF severely beat two young Palestinian men while they were harvesting olives. The IOF later released the men and withdrew from the area.
In Beit Furik, east of Nablus, Israeli forces raided agricultural land, forced farmers to leave, and prevented them from continuing the harvest.
In the Sura Plain, settlers transported residential equipment to prefabricated structures they had previously seized from the Qaryut area.
The activity prevented Palestinian farmers from entering the plain and accessing their agricultural land.
Qalqilya: Settlers establish tents on Palestinian olive-growing land
In the Qalqilya Governorate, settlers erected a tent on olive-growing land in the al-Buqai’ area west of Jinsafut, near the Israeli settlement of Ramat Gilad.
The commission warned that the move reflected efforts to establish a new settlement presence on Palestinian agricultural land.
Bethlehem: Settlement expansion and road closures disrupt harvest
In the Bethlehem Governorate, the IOF carried out expansion work on olive-growing land for the benefit of the Beitar settlement in the western part of the governorate.
Israeli forces also closed all entrances to the town of Tuqu’, obstructing farmers’ access to their land and preventing them from carrying out the olive harvest normally.
Salfit: Farmers forced from olive groves as land bulldozing continues
In the Salfit Governorate, Israeli forces prevented Palestinian farmers and international solidarity activists from harvesting olives in the al-Wadat area of Bruqin, west of Salfit.
The IOF also ordered the family of Alaa Abdul Rahman to leave their agricultural land.
In the village of Iskaka, settlers stormed farmland in the southeastern part of the village, near the Israeli settlement of Nofei Nehemia.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued bulldozing olive-growing land in the town of Qarawat Bani Hassan.
Commission warns of coordinated attacks on farmers and support networks
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said Friday’s attacks demonstrated an expansion in attacks on the Palestinian olive harvest, extending beyond direct assaults on farmers and their crops to targeting the civilian support networks accompanying them in the fields.
The commission pointed to the arrest of international solidarity activists and journalists in Kafr Ni’ma, the forced removal of activists from Abu Falah, and the assault and arrest of journalist Musab Shawer in Beit Awwa.
It warned that such actions were intended to reduce civilian and media presence in agricultural areas vulnerable to settler attacks, further limiting farmers’ ability to access their land safely.
The commission also highlighted the simultaneous establishment of a settler tent in Jinsafut, the movement of residential structures into the Sura Plain, the expansion of the Beitar settlement, and the bulldozing of agricultural land in Qarawat Bani Hassan.
According to the commission, these developments demonstrate a connection between settler violence on the ground and efforts to establish permanent control over Palestinian agricultural land.
It warned that preventing farmers from accessing their fields while expanding settlement activity on or around those lands risks turning seasonal restrictions on harvesting into long-term exclusion from their property.
The commission called on the international community to intervene to halt attacks by Israeli forces and settlers, provide protection for Palestinian farmers, international solidarity activists, and journalists, and guarantee Palestinians’ right to safely access, cultivate, and benefit from their agricultural land without threats or violence.
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