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Violence Against Palestinian Harvesters
Israeli settlers and forces killed 26-year-old Palestinian Abdul Rahman Darawsheh during coordinated attacks on Palestinian communities near Beita, south of Nablus.
“A surge of violence by illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on Saturday resulted in the death of a 26-year-old Palestinian, Abdul Rahman Darawsheh, and injured 17 others, including international activists and journalists.”
At least 17 others were injured, including international activists and journalists.
The attacks occurred during the olive harvest, a critical time for Palestinian farmers.
Sources report that masked settlers used sticks, clubs, and rocks in the assault.
Israeli forces were reportedly absent during the initial attack but later claimed they had dispatched soldiers.
Injured individuals include staff from Reuters and Al Jazeera, highlighting that both harvesters and media workers were targeted.
The settlers directly attacked Palestinians on their land while Israeli forces failed to provide protection.
Attack on Farmers and Journalists
Witnesses and rights-focused reports state that settlers carried out the beating of farmers, activists, and journalists while Israeli forces did not intervene at the scene.
The New Arab reports that witnesses saw no military presence during the attack, even though the army later claimed it had dispatched soldiers.
Journalists were specifically targeted during the attack.
Reuters staff were hospitalized and Al Jazeera staff were injured, showing that settlers aimed to intimidate the press covering land theft and harvest disruption.
Settler Violence and Occupation Impact
Reports from West Asian outlets and the UN place these killings and beatings within an illegal-occupation framework and a campaign to expel Palestinians from their land.
“The United Nations reported a record 264 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in October, the highest monthly total in about 20 years.”
Al-Jazeera Net documents a record 264 settler attacks in October and names extremist groups like “Price Tag,” “Guardians of Judea and Samaria,” and the army-formed “Regional Defense Brigades.”
These groups aim to disrupt agriculture and force Palestinians to flee to enable annexation.
Yeni Safak connects the spike in attacks to the International Court of Justice’s July ruling that Israel’s occupation and settlements are illegal.
Azat TV and The New Arab add that there are systematic patterns: settlers destroy trees, attacks intensify during harvest, and investigations and accountability are rare.
Settler Attacks in October
Sources disagree on the scale of settler attacks in October.
The UN figure cited by West Asian outlets is 264 incidents, the highest monthly total in two decades.
Al Jazeera reports more than 760 attacks across the West Bank that month.
Both accounts agree settlers are escalating attacks during the olive harvest.
However, the metrics diverge and are not reconciled in the reporting.
Given the killing of Darawsheh and the dozens injured, the incident fits the pattern of organized settler assaults documented across October.
Regional Repression and Violence
Regional context underscores why settlers and Israeli forces act with impunity, as West Asian sources describe a broader system of repression.
“Violence has increased with raids on Palestinian homes and farmland, including near schools, and assaults on journalists condemned as war crimes.”
Azat TV reports Israel’s ongoing raids and assaults on journalists, which are called war crimes, alongside concurrent military operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
The New Arab notes that violence around the harvest has intensified since the Gaza war.
İlke Haber Ajansı documents nonviolent accompaniment of farmers and reports Israel returning bodies of Palestinians showing signs of torture and execution-style killings, deepening the climate of fear.
Al-Jazeera Net adds that extremist settler and army-linked brigades aim to displace Palestinians and seize land, reinforcing why attacks like Beita’s keep happening.