Escalating Settler Attacks Disrupt Palestinian Olive Harvest and Spark Arrests Across the West Bank

Palestinians pick olives during the harvest season in Palestinian-owned olive groves in the village of Beit Furik near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 9, 2026. Israeli settlers have carried out attacks and pogroms disrupting the Palestinian olive harvest in the West Bank, while Israeli forces separately detained several Palestinians across the occupied territory.

At least 19 settler attacks were recorded on Friday by the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, a Palestinian government body operating under the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The commission reported that the incidents involved assaults on Palestinian olive harvesters, the burning and uprooting of olive trees, and the theft of crops and livestock, alongside targeting Palestinians and their vehicles.

Settlers set fire to groves and stole olives during what is considered the most vital season for the single-seeded stone fruit. More than 50 olive trees were uprooted in Qusra, while farmers were assaulted and injured in the Tal, where a Palestinian-owned vehicle was also torched. Further attacks on olive harvesters occurred in Jorish, Beita, Naqoura, Birzeit, Deir Bzeih, and Farata.

An Israeli security personnel member and Israeli settlers stand near Mou’ayad Mahmoud’s shop in al-Lubban Asharqiya, near Nablus in the West Bank, on October 8, 2026. A farmer sustained injuries from reported gunfire in Kafr ad-Dik, and live ammunition was used during a settler pogrom backed by Israeli forces in Deir Ballut. In Berin, east of Hebron, an elderly Palestinian woman was injured after settlers set dogs on farmers while sheep were stolen in Ein Qinya. Additional incidents included a father and child being attacked and their vehicle stolen in Yabrud, with vehicle attacks also noted in Sarda and al-Rihan.

Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, stated that settlers backed by Israeli forces have become increasingly brazen during the harvest despite the presence of foreign activists and observers. Palestinians are forced to travel in large groups featuring international solidarity activists to deter intimidation, though settlers often strike as the groups attempt to leave, operating under the protection of the Israeli army. Ibrahim noted that a Palestinian family was targeted by settlers who recently established an illegal outpost near Ramallah to serve as an attack base, emphasizing that no one is being spared from the fear and intimidation overshadowing what should be a joyous season.

Amid these ongoing attacks, the Israeli army arrested 16 Palestinians during raids across the occupied West Bank on Friday, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency and local sources speaking to the Anadolu news agency. In Hebron, nine individuals were arrested after home raids, including Ibrahimi Mosque Director Moataz Abu Sneineh and Hammam Abu Markhiya, an official responsible for the mosque’s custodians. Five people were arrested in Qalqilya, and two others were detained following raids in Beita, south of Nablus.