OCHA: Settler attacks on olive harvest in West Bank reach 5-year high

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English
31 Oct 2025 21:08
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UN reports record settler attacks during olive harvest in the West Bank, with over 4,000 trees vandalized and dozens of Palestinians injured.

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Israeli settlers stand near members of Israeli forces blocking access for Palestinians to an area for harvesting olives in the West Bank village of Sair, near al-Khalil, Thursday, October 23, 2025 (AP)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported a significant surge in settler violence during this year’s olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank, the highest recorded in the past five years.

According to the report, 126 settler attacks were documented across 70 towns, resulting in the vandalism of over 4,000 olive trees and saplings. These attacks have impacted the livelihoods of numerous Palestinian families who depend on the olive harvest as a vital economic and cultural activity.

OCHA noted that settlers from newly established barriers have placed restrictions on Palestinians attempting to reach their olive groves.

In just one week, 60 separate attacks were recorded, highlighting the intensity of the aggression. These incidents included physical assaults, damage to property, and obstruction of access to agricultural lands.

At least 17 Palestinians were injured in settler-led assaults during the past week alone, while 19 vehicles were vandalized. In a recent incident east of Qalqilya, settlers attacked olive harvesters, injuring two people.

Simultaneously, occupation forces prevented farmers in the village of Kafr Qaddum from accessing their lands, compounding the challenges faced by Palestinian communities during the harvest season.

Palestine's olive yield among lowest in decades

These incidents are part of a wider surge in settler attacks during the annual olive harvest, which typically begins in mid-October.

The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported that over the past two years, settlers have carried out 7,154 assaults against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, resulting in 33 killings and the mass displacement of 33 Bedouin communities.

Muayyad Shaaban, head of the commission, stated that since the start of this year’s harvest, Israeli occupation forces and settlers have launched a total of 259 attacks on olive pickers. He said the breakdown includes 41 attacks by Israeli forces and 218 by illegal settlers, involving “violent physical assaults, arrests, movement restrictions, intimidation in all forms, and direct gunfire.”

Shaaban noted that Ramallah recorded 83 attacks, Nablus 69, and al-Khalil 34. He added that roughly 1,070 olive trees were damaged this season, calling it “the most difficult and dangerous in decades” due to "Israel’s" use of “closed military zones” to block Palestinian access to farmland.

According to the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry, this year’s olive yield is among the lowest in decades, estimated at only 15% of the average level.