Israeli army, occupiers carry out attacks across occupied West Bank, target olive harvesters

Israeli forces and occupiers carried out a series of attacks across the occupied West Bank on Friday, including assaults on Palestinians harvesting olives, the burning of residential tents and farmland, and raids on several areas, according to the Wafa news agency. Israeli soldiers forced dozens of foreign activists and several journalists to leave Abu Falah village, northeast of Ramallah, after they attempted to support Palestinian residents seeking access to their land to harvest olives, Wafa reported.

In a separate incident, Israeli occupiers and soldiers assaulted and detained 15 foreign activists who were helping Palestinians harvest olives near Jabal al-Risan, according to the agency. Occupiers also raided a Bedouin community on all-terrain vehicles and drove provocatively among Palestinian homes, Wafa said. In the southern occupied West Bank, Israeli forces raided the tourist site of Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem and closed entrances to the Bethlehem governorate.

Near Yatta, south of Hebron, Israeli occupiers released livestock into Palestinian fields and among fruit trees in the Huwwara area. Palestinian Khalil Mahmoud al-Hamamdeh and his son Omar confronted the occupiers before Israeli forces entered the area and detained Khalil, Wafa reported. In the central West Bank, Israeli occupiers set fire to land in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah. In Duma, south of Nablus, occupiers attacked the eastern part of the village and set fire to residential tents, causing material damage.

No injuries were reported. In Burin, south of Nablus, occupiers cut electricity poles supplying the home of the Sufan family, cutting power to the house. On Oct. 22, the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said it had documented 409 attacks on olive farmers, trees, land and agricultural equipment across the occupied West Bank between Oct. 1 and 21. Of those, 317 were carried out by Israeli occupiers and 92 by the Israeli army, according to the commission.

The attacks included preventing farmers from reaching their fields, forcing them to leave their land, stealing crops and damaging trees and agricultural equipment. Israeli army raids and attacks by Israeli occupiers have intensified across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October 2023, with reports of killings, arrests, home demolitions, arson attacks, the bulldozing of land and the displacement of Palestinian communities.​​​​​​​