Israeli settlers have attacked several Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank, in an escalating wave of violence targeting residents harvesting olive trees.
At least three Palestinians were injured when settlers attacked farmers in the village of Deir Nidam, northwest of Ramallah, on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
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Local resident and activist Mujahid Tamimi said settlers attacked farmers near the western entrance to the village, beat them with the butts of rifles, and evicted them from their land, Wafa reported.
Tamimi added that Israeli forces then entered the village to protect the settlers and detained 31-year-old resident Motasem Abdullah Tamimi.
The attack comes as Palestinians across the West Bank experience a surge in Israeli military and settler violence in the shadow of Israel’s deadly war in the Gaza Strip, which began in October 2023.
Since then, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 10,000 injured by Israeli settlers and military attacks, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
But this year’s olive harvest season, which typically begins in early October, has brought a new wave of escalating violence.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh noted that attacks on settlers “usually occur under the protection of Israeli soldiers, who sometimes take part in the raids.”
“Settlers are armed and dangerous, and many serve in the military, which is precisely why human rights groups accuse Israeli military complicity,” Odeh said, adding that the settlers were “emboldened” by the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The attacks are aimed at forcing Palestinians from their homes and creating an environment in which it is untenable and unsafe to remain in their towns,” she reported.
Harvesting olive trees is an important economic activity for many Palestinians and has significant cultural significance in Palestinian society.
According to United Nations statistics, between 80,000 and 100,000 households depend on olives and olive oil as a primary or secondary source of income.
Since the start of this year’s season, the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee has reported a total of 158 attacks on olive pickers.
17 were carried out by the Israeli military and 141 by settlers. They describe human rights groups as committing acts of violence against Palestinians with complete impunity.
For the second week in a row, Israeli forces have also blocked farmers from accessing their land across the West Bank.
On Saturday, settlers sprayed pepper gas at Palestinian farmers in Kafr Malek, east of Ramallah, injuring several people.
In another incident in the village of Naharin, near Bethlehem, settlers and three Israeli soldiers beat 65-year-old Ahmad Shakarna, who was harvesting olives with his family.
In Beit Awwa, southwest of Hebron, Israeli forces fired tear gas and sound bombs at farmers attempting to reach their land in the al-Baqaa area, scattering them.
Meanwhile, in the villages of Akrabah and Kabaran south of Nablus, armed settlers with attack dogs beat farmers and confiscated their tools. Three Palestinians were injured in these attacks and subsequently forced from their land.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in more than 250 settlements and settlement outposts (considered illegal under international law) across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
They have targeted Palestinian property more than 2,400 times in the past two years, displacing at least 3,055 people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
