Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and set fire to olive trees in the occupied West Bank, as attacks in the territory continue. In the village of Abu Falah, roughly 80 masked settlers carrying clubs charged at Palestinians who were gathering fruit.
The olive harvest is an economic lifeline for Palestinians, and it has become a recurring target for settlers living in illegal settlements. Those attacks have intensified amid government encouragement for settlement expansion.
Clashes escalate as soldiers fire tear gas
When the settlers confronted the farmers, some used slingshots and the Palestinians responded by throwing rocks. Israeli military jeeps drove into the area, but the assault continued, and soldiers fired tear gas toward the Palestinians.
Jasper Nathaniel, an independent journalist on the ground, told that more settlers armed with machineguns then arrived. A news agency said live gunfire could be heard, and a photographer saw at least one armed settler fire a weapon.
Journalist injured during the Abu Falah attack
Nathaniel described violence in the West Bank as “at or near an all-time high right now”. He said everyone ran once the settlers began firing, and Washington Post journalist Heidi Levine fell to the ground.
Nathaniel said he saw people beating, clubbing and robbing her before they pulled her up and beat her again. Levine later said she “probably wouldn’t even be here” without her helmet and flak jacket.
Land orders and sanctions over settlement expansion
Amnesty International said last month that Israel had signed at least 15 land confiscation orders covering about 200 dunams (20 hectares) of Palestinian land in Jenin, in the northern West Bank. The rights group said Israel appeared to intend connecting two planned settlements in the area.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), an independent conflict-monitoring organisation, said settler violence in the West Bank has recently reached record levels. The UK and France have announced sanctions targeting purchases of goods from illegal settlements, a shift from Western countries that had previously limited themselves to verbal criticism.
