Israeli Settlers Torch Olive Trees and Injure Journalist in West Bank Harvest Attack

ABU FALAH, West Bank: Dozens of masked Israeli settlers set fire to olive trees and hurled rocks at Palestinian villagers on Friday in a coordinated assault on the annual olive harvest in the village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah, injuring at least two people, including a journalist.

According to Reuters witnesses, around 80 settlers dressed in black, some carrying gas canisters, came down from a hilltop overlooking a terraced olive grove where villagers had gathered to pick the season’s crop, a cherished tradition in Palestinian life. Some of the settlers positioned themselves along the rows of trees and used slings to fire rocks at the villagers, who retreated down the hill and threw stones back in self-defence.

Palestinian medics said two injured people were taken to hospitals in the Ramallah area. One of them was Heidi Levine, a photojournalist for The Washington Post, whom video footage showed lying on a dirt path covering her face as at least three settlers surrounded her. Speaking afterwards with her hand bandaged, Levine said her protective vest and helmet had probably saved her life as the attackers repeatedly kicked her.

During the attack, at least two Israeli military jeeps raced through the area as villagers scrambled out of their path. The violence continued after the troops arrived, with soldiers firing tear gas towards the Palestinians. Live gunfire was heard, and a Reuters photographer saw at least one armed settler fire a weapon. A local farmer who witnessed the attack said the settlers were trying to drive villagers from their homes. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The incident followed an attack earlier on Friday near the village of Turmus Ayya, where settlers assaulted farmers harvesting olives and set three cars on fire.

Settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has risen sharply, with at least 170 attacks recorded since September 27, around the start of the harvest season, according to the Israeli settlement monitoring group Yesh Din. Settlement and outpost construction has expanded rapidly under the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Around 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank alongside at least 3 million Palestinians.