Incidents Reported
On Tuesday, several incidents involving Israeli settlers, a Palestinian warehouse, a Bedouin village, and agricultural land in the northern West Bank were reported. These events included arson attacks. Several Palestinians sustained injuries during these incidents.
Footage from Tuesday depicted masked individuals on a hillside east of Tulkarm. A Palestinian warehouse in Beit Lid was reported attacked, with vehicles set on fire. Tents were observed ablaze in the Bedouin village of Deir Sharaf.
These incidents occurred during the olive harvest season, a period when Palestinians access their agricultural lands.
Official Responses
Palestinian Authority Minister Muayyad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, stated that the attacks constituted a campaign to establish "a hostile environment through intimidation and terror."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that troops deployed to the scene "to disperse the confrontation using riot dispersal means and apprehended several Israeli civilians." The IDF also stated that soldiers were subsequently attacked by settlers nearby, resulting in damage to their vehicle. Israeli police confirmed the arrest of four suspects.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the events as "shocking and serious" in a post on X, attributing them to "a handful of violent and dangerous individuals." He added: "Such violence against civilians and against IDF soldiers crosses a red line and I condemn it severely."
Major-General Avi Bluth, head of the IDF Central Command, also condemned the attacks, stating that such incidents "undermine the stability of the security situation." He commented: "The reality in which anarchist fringe youth act violently against innocent civilians and against security forces is unacceptable and is extremely serious. It must be dealt with firmly." Bluth further conveyed to officers: "The directive to IDF soldiers is clear: do not stand idly by and do everything in your power to prevent any act of nationalist crime."
Context and Data
The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that October marked the highest number of violent attacks by settlers since the organization began collecting data nearly 20 years prior. The agency documented over 260 Israeli settler attacks in October, resulting in casualties, property damage, or both, averaging eight incidents daily.
During the current olive harvest, OCHA has recorded approximately 150 attacks, leading to injuries for over 140 Palestinians and the vandalism of more than 4,200 trees and saplings across 77 villages. Since the beginning of the year, approximately 1,500 settler attacks have been documented.
The UN's Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, Tom Fletcher, stated on X that "The failure to prevent or punish such attacks is inconsistent with international law. Palestinians must be protected. Impunity cannot prevail. Perpetrators must be held accountable."
The Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, established since the 1967 Middle East war, house approximately 700,000 Jewish residents alongside an estimated 3.3 million Palestinians. These settlements are considered illegal under international law. Palestinians seek these territories, along with Gaza, for a future state.
Palestinians and human rights organizations have frequently accused the IDF of protecting or assisting some settlers.
An instance of Israeli law enforcement intervention to counter settler actions occurred on Tuesday. This followed an increase in incidents since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which initiated the Gaza war.
Other Incidents
On Saturday, reports from Beita, near Nablus, indicated that masked individuals used clubs to assault local Palestinians, volunteer paramedics, a Reuters news agency photographer, and a security adviser. An Israeli civilian, a 77-year-old head of a Tel Aviv art college, who was participating in the harvest, was also photographed with facial injuries.
Earlier, 13-year-old Aysam Mualla from Beita passed away. He was reported to have been in a coma since inhaling tear gas, reportedly fired by the IDF, during olive picking near the settler outpost of Evyatar last month.