West Bankupdated 1h ago2 min read
Israeli Settlers With IDF Soldiers Assault Palestinian Olive Farmers Near Ramallah
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Palestinian olive farmers attacked by masked settlers with IDF, in Abu Falah northeast of Ramallah. European diplomats and a journalist assaulted during West Bank visit near Ramallah; injuries reported.
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Abu Falah assault
Israeli settlers backed by IDF soldiers assaulted Palestinian olive farmers in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, and the attack included settlers hurling rocks, setting olive trees ablaze, and driving people from their fields. Veteran Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine said she was attacked after she saw “at least 50 masked men” with slingshots, and she described being pushed to the ground and repeatedly kicked for “like probably 50 times.”
Jasper Nathaniel said the Palestinian youth “stepped up,” ran ahead, and “started beating the settlers back by throwing stones at them,” which he said allowed him to intervene and grab Levine. Netanyahu’s office said the facts around the confrontation “remain unclear and are under investigation,” and it added it would not allow disputed incidents to be used “to demonize the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.”
Taybeh diplomats attacked
Israeli settlers attacked a European diplomatic convoy in Taybeh, a town near Ramallah, and the assault left Belgium’s consul general and other envoys among those targeted.
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said, “Impunity for violent settlers must end,” after the attack, and he also urged Israel to bring those responsible to justice.
The IDF condemned the incident as a “grave act of violence” and said it was investigating, while Netanyahu’s office questioned what happened and suggested it was part of a “coordinated campaign to smear Israel.”
The BBC reported that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the aggression “a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards,” and he said the attackers should be prosecuted “with full force of the law.”
Arrests and wider fallout
Israeli police arrested 10 people on Monday in connection with the wave of settler violence that included attacks on an American journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank. Israeli police said they were collecting evidence and witness statements since the weekend attacks, and they said the operation also targeted people suspected of violating military orders declaring a closed military zone and offences involving illegal construction.
The Israeli opposition party the Democratic said, through Gadi Eisenkot, that “a handful of criminals is burning up the last shreds of legitimacy left to the state of Israel.” The attacks continued during the olive harvest season, and the UN said more than 200 settler attacks targeting Palestinian olive harvesters had been recorded this season, surpassing the total for the entire 2025 harvest.