Israeli settlers and soldiers attacked Palestinian farmers harvesting olives across the occupied West Bank overnight and into Sunday, with reports of tear gas being fired at women picking olives, agricultural equipment being stolen, and trees destroyed.
The attacks targeted communities around Nablus, Ramallah and Jerusalem as Palestinians worked to gather a crop central to their agricultural livelihoods. They followed at least 18 settler attacks recorded across nine West Bank governorates on Saturday, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
In Yatma, south of Nablus, five Palestinian women, including an elderly woman, suffered from tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces fired canisters at them while they were picking olives, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
The women were then prevented from leaving the land, according to Wafa, with Israeli forces citing its location in Area C — the part of the occupied West Bank placed under full Israeli security and administrative control under the Oslo Accords.
East of Ramallah, settlers reportedly accompanied by Israeli soldiers raided agricultural land in the village of al-Mughayir and stole equipment used for the olive harvest.
Local sources told Palestinian media that settlers also stole harvested olives. The raid came a day after the village faced what the sources described as "continuous attacks" by settlers, who destroyed a number of trees.
In neighbouring Ein Yabrud, settlers reportedly seized a vehicle as well as agricultural equipment, further disrupting Palestinians’ work during the harvest.
Another incursion was reported on Sunday in Mikhmas, north of Jerusalem, where a group of settlers entered land planted with olive trees.
The theft of crops and equipment, alongside attacks on farmers and the destruction of trees, threatens both the immediate harvest and the livelihoods of families dependent on their groves.
Attacks across nine governorates
The latest incidents followed a wave of attacks documented on Saturday by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, which recorded at least 18 settler attacks across nine governorates, including Ramallah, Nablus, Jerusalem and Hebron.
The reports from several villages described attacks on Palestinians while they were working their land, with Israeli soldiers reportedly protecting settlers during the incursion into al-Mughayir.
Separately, Israeli forces carried out overnight raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank.
Soldiers arrested three Palestinians in Hebron, three in Bethlehem governorate and six in Jenin governorate, including one who was injured in Qabatiya.
In Tulkarm, Israeli forces arrested nine Palestinians, among them people who had previously been detained.
Israeli forces also delivered an evacuation order to a Palestinian family living in Qalandiya village, north of Jerusalem, citing a lack of the required paperwork for their residential building following a judicial decision.
Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli authorities use planning and permit requirements to force Palestinians from their homes in occupied territory.