At least eight people, including an American journalist and a Palestinian civil defence member, have been wounded in attacks by illegal Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank, with several vehicles also set ablaze.
Palestinian emergency services and local sources reported the attacks on Friday as settlers targeted farmers harvesting olives in several towns and villages.
In Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, settlers assaulted Palestinians picking olives and torched three Palestinian vehicles in the Al-Nabaat area, local sources said. Warning sirens sounded to alert residents to the attacks.
The Palestinian civil defence said illegal settlers then attacked an emergency crew responding to the blaze, leaving one member with bruises, before setting fire to a civil defence vehicle.
The agency condemned the assault, warning that attacks on emergency crews and their vehicles while carrying out humanitarian duties pose a direct threat to efforts to protect lives and property and respond to emergencies.
The Palestinian rights group Al-Baydar said American journalist and international solidarity activist Heidi Levine was also wounded when illegal Israeli settlers assaulted her in Turmus Ayya in the presence of Israeli forces.
She was taken to al-Istishari Hospital for treatment, the group added.
Farmers attacked during olive harvest
Illegal Israeli settlers also attacked farmers in nearby Abu Falah, witnesses said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams treated a 63-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man injured in the attack and were taking both to hospital.
In Burqa, east of Ramallah, the Red Crescent reported four injuries following an Israeli settler attack on Palestinian farmers.
The Palestinian rights group Al-Baydar said the victims suffered injuries to their heads, backs and hands, while a foreign journalist was pepper-sprayed during the assault.
In Rammun, east of Ramallah, settlers assaulted farmers and forced them off their land during the olive harvest, according to Al-Baydar.
In Qabalan, south of Nablus, settlers chased and physically assaulted a Palestinian woman before stealing her olive harvest, the group said.
Similar attacks targeted farmers and olive pickers in Burin and Majdal Bani Fadil, also south of Nablus.
In Arraba, southwest of Jenin, Israeli settlers attacked homes belonging to the Al-Rahhal family, Al-Baydar reported.
136 attacks linked to harvest
The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said on Monday that it had documented 136 attacks linked to the olive harvest by Israeli forces and settlers since the beginning of October.
The incidents included beatings, expulsions, intimidation, gunfire, tear gas and arrests, according to the commission.
They also included the theft of olives and harvesting equipment and damage to trees, causing losses to farmers and restricting their access to agricultural land.
The olive harvest is a vital source of income for thousands of Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank, where farmers face growing attacks and restrictions on access to their land during the season.
Attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have intensified since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023.
