Israeli raids, detentions, and olive tree destruction sweep West Bank

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: WAFA
Today 13:39

Israeli occupation forces and settlers launched a new wave of raids and land seizures across the occupied West Bank, detaining Palestinians and destroying olive trees.

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Palestinian farmer Kazem Al-Hajj Muhammad checks the olive trees that were uprooted from his land following an Israeli military raid in the West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir, Sunday, August 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Israeli occupation forces carried out a new wave of raids, detentions, and property destruction on Tuesday morning across several areas of the occupied West Bank, as part of an ongoing campaign to expand settlements and crush Palestinian resistance.

According to local sources cited by the WAFA news agency, occupation forces detained at least 10 Palestinians during incursions into the city of Al-Bireh and the Al-Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah. Witnesses reported that troops raided multiple homes, vandalizing them, and deployed heavily across several neighborhoods.

In the south, Israeli forces also stormed the town of Za’atara, east of Beit Lahm, where they carried out house-to-house searches and interrogated residents. In occupied al-Quds, a large contingent of troops raided Kafr Aqab and erected checkpoints at the main entrances, restricting movement for several hours.

Palestinian youths blocked the roads and set tires ablaze in protest of Israeli military raid in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/HOpFCCOmf8
— Al-Jarmaq News (@Aljarmaqnetnews) October 7, 2025

Settlers Escalate Assault on Palestinian Agriculture

Simultaneously, settlers, in the company of Israeli troops, continued their assaults on Palestinian farmland, uprooting approximately 150 olive trees in the village of Umm al-Khair, located in Masafer Yatta, south of Al-Khalil. The attack came amid the olive harvest season, a vital economic and cultural period for Palestinians.

SETTLER VANDALISM: 120 OLIVE TREES DESTROYED IN WEST BANK

🌿 Israeli settlers have cut down more than 120 olive trees near Ramallah, right in the middle of the harvest season.

🫒 Olive Tree are the Pillars of Palestine. For generations, olive groves have been the heart of… pic.twitter.com/9O6IHe455W
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) October 6, 2025

The coordinator of the Popular Committees Against the Wall and Settlements in eastern Yatta and southern al-Khalil, Rateb al-Jabour, told WAFA that occupation forces and settlers stormed Umm al-Khair village, uprooted olive trees, and destroyed agricultural fences and barbed wire belonging to Palestinian residents near the illegal settlement of Carmel.

He clarified that the ongoing campaign of land seizures, crop destruction, and movement restrictions is part of a deliberate Israeli policy to "drive Palestinians from their land and pave the way for settlement expansion."

Wider pattern of aggression and land theft

These latest assaults come amid escalating Israeli military operations across the West Bank, where occupation forces have intensified raids, arrests, and closures in recent weeks. According to Reuters, "Israel" has approved new settlement plans to seize 35 dunams of land from the village of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya, for the construction of 58 new settlement units.

In the town of Rantis, west of Ramallah, Israeli soldiers detained farmers attempting to reach their olive groves and informed them that access to their own land would now require a special "entry permit", a policy that exemplifies the apartheid system imposed by the occupation to isolate Palestinians from their lands and facilitate ongoing annexation.

Olive Trees: A Symbol of Resilience

Despite the ongoing onslaught, Palestinians continue to view the olive tree as a symbol of endurance and belonging. The destruction of trees has not only economic but also profound emotional consequences, representing an attack on the people’s connection to their ancestral land.

International solidarity with Palestinian farmers has grown in recent months. According to a Guardian report published on October 3, UK sales of Palestinian olive oil rose by 50% in 2024, as consumers expressed support for Palestinian livelihoods amid the Israeli war on Gaza and intensified settler violence in the West Bank.

"Buying Palestine’s olive oil has become a tangible act of solidarity," said Zaytoun’s managing director, Manal Ramadan White. "The hardiness of the olive tree is a metaphor for the Palestinian people’s resilience through all these challenging times."

Ongoing raids and collective punishment

Israeli raids in the West Bank have grown increasingly violent in recent weeks, particularly in Jenin, Nablus, and al-Khalil, where occupation forces frequently use live ammunition and tear gas in densely populated civilian areas.

Human rights organizations warn that these operations, coupled with daily land theft and settler attacks, amount to a policy of collective punishment aimed at crushing Palestinian resistance and reshaping the demographic reality of the occupied territories.