Israeli occupation forces have pledged "disciplinary action" against soldiers filmed stealing olives from a Palestinian grove in the occupied West Bank, a rare, almost theatrical gesture of self-policing that exposes far more than what it conceals.

The footage, captured in the village of Sinjil near Ramallah, shows Israeli soldiers casually taking part in the theft of Palestinian olives amid the annual harvest. The army condemned the act, claiming it “does not align with the values" of the IOF, and promised an "internal disciplinary response."

جنود الاحتلال يسرقون ثمار الزيتون من أراضي المزارعين في بلدة سنجل شمال رام الله، بعد طرد أصحابها منها. pic.twitter.com/ApgjbnQxkM

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 31, 2025

Why any such gesture is theatrical

The IOF have been barring farmers from accessing their land since the olive harvest began in mid-October, particularly in the eastern parts of the Qalqilya Governorate, and have also been attacking farmers and stealing their olive crops.

UN data show growing settler violence under the protection of the IOF as Palestinians face attacks, crop theft, and land usurpation during the olive harvest across the occupied West Bank.

Since October 7, 2023, settlers have carried out 7,154 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank, resulting in the killing of 33 Palestinians, including children.

It is worth noting that Israeli occupation forces carry out daily waves of raids, detentions, and property destruction across several areas of the occupied West Bank, as part of an ongoing campaign to expand settlements and crush Palestinian Resistance.

From stolen olives to stolen lives, 'Israel’s' impunity endures

Behind this seemingly minor scandal lies a truth far more revealing. By admitting that its soldiers stole from Palestinian farmers, “Israel” has, perhaps unintentionally, validated what Palestinians and human rights groups have documented for decades: that theft, usurpation, and impunity are not exceptions but pillars of its military occupation.

The theft of Palestinian olives is not a trivial incident. It strikes at the very roots of livelihood, heritage, and identity. Each uprooted tree, each stolen harvest, represents years of care and generations of endurance, a living symbol of Palestinian attachment to the land. When Israeli soldiers loot these groves, they are not merely committing petty theft; they are dismantling a culture, erasing memory, and asserting control over the soil itself.

Yet, as Israeli authorities stage accountability over stolen olives, their forces continue to usurp more Palestinian land, demolish homes, and take lives across the region. In the past two days alone, Israeli airstrikes have devastated parts of Gaza, killing dozens and rendering neighborhoods uninhabitable,  despite a declared ceasefire.

Selective outrage

The selective outrage over this single act of theft serves another purpose: to mask systemic crimes behind the facade of "discipline". These calculated displays of “justice” are not meant to uphold moral values but to preserve an illusion, the image of an entity capable of self-restraint, even as it perpetuates far greater brutality under the guise of accountability.

In Sinjil, the stolen olives,  a crime that cuts deep into Palestinian life and legacy, will likely be dismissed as a mere “disciplinary issue”. Meanwhile, the thousands of lives taken in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and Yemen remain unacknowledged, buried beneath the same machinery of denial that normalizes the usurpation of land, labor, and life itself.

Read more: Gaza and the logic of necropolitics: Sovereignty measured by killing