By Nadine Osman
London, (The Muslim News): At least 11 Palestinians were injured on Saturday in a series of coordinated attacks by illegal Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank, marking one of the most violent days of the current olive harvest season.
This ongoing violence forms part of a broader escalation across the territory since October 2023. According to Palestinian health authorities, Israeli military and settler operations during this period have resulted in more than 1,062 Palestinian fatalities and over 10,300 injuries in the West Bank.
The incidents, reported from multiple villages, underscore a sharp rise in violence that the UN has called the worst in five years. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), since the start of this year’s olive harvest season, there have been 126 reported attacks in 70 Palestinian communities, resulting in the vandalism of over 4,000 olive trees and saplings.
The violence erupted near the village of Al-Minya, southeast of Bethlehem, where armed Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces opened fire on residents. Zayed Kawazbeh, head of the village council, confirmed the live fire wounded three people in their lower limbs, requiring hospitalisation. He described how settlers had simultaneously brought livestock to graze among the olive trees, calling the coordinated action “a deliberate provocation aimed at displacing residents and seizing lands.”
The violence then spread north, with settlers assaulting olive harvesters in the village of Burin, south of Nablus. Simultaneously, further attacks were reported across the region: on Mount Qamas, settlers set fire to olive trees and stole harvested crops, while in the Khirbet Makhul community, raids instilled fear among residents.
The situation escalated significantly by evening, with the Palestinian Health Ministry confirming that medical teams in Nablus had treated eight more people for injuries sustained in assaults by settlers and Israeli soldiers across the towns of Tell, Burin, and Sebastia.
The legality of the settlements underpinning these tensions was directly addressed by the International Court of Justice. In a landmark opinion last July, the court declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
[Photo: Smoke rises as Israelis attack Palestinians harvesting olives in the villages of Sinjil and Turmus Ayya near Ramallah, injuring three people and preventing farmers from working on their own land according to local sources in the West Bank, on October 28, 2025. The group also attacked Palestinian and international activists who were harvesting olives in the village. Photojournalist: Issam Rimawi/AA]
