Israeli settlers, IDF soldiers prevent Palestinian olive harvest across West Bank

Matan Golan and Jack Khoury report in Haaretz on 9 October 2026:

Israeli settlers and soldiers prevented Palestinian farmers from harvesting their olive groves across the West Bank on Friday, in some cases driving them out, with one IDF soldier filmed saying: “This is a Jewish state, and Jews have a right to everything here before Arabs, whether you like it or not.”

According to reports, settlers also attacked Palestinians in several locations, with the Palestinian Red Crescent reporting that two Palestinians wounded in settler attacks were taken to hospital, including a 79-year-old man who was bitten by a settler’s dog.

According to human rights activists, the IDF allowed settlers to enter privately owned Palestinian land while barring locals from accessing it. Although military directives require the IDF to ensure Palestinian farmers’ safe access to their land, the military had not responded to Haaretz’s request for comment.

The organization Rabbis for Human Rights has already contacted the relevant IDF authorities twice this year in an attempt to coordinate activities for the upcoming olive harvest season, but has received no response.  The requests were intended to ensure that Palestinian communities, too, could access areas where attacks take place. Last year, according to the organization, it contacted the army nine times in attempts to coordinate activities, but to no avail.

Separately, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the Israeli military arrested nine Palestinians in Hebron, including the director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, known to Jews as the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

According to Wafa, dozens of armed settlers raided the village of Sarda and the al-Rayhan neighborhood, north of Ramallah. According to the report, the settlers threw stones and fired live ammunition in the air.

Footage from the village of Yabrud, near Ramallah, also showed settlers armed with clubs using their vehicle to corner a Palestinian car before beating the driver. The driver and his son were forced to flee, after which the settlers were seen taking the car.

According to Palestinian reports, soldiers expelled Palestinian olive harvesters and activists from land belonging to the northern West Bank village of Jamma’in after an armed settler told them they were not allowed to be there.  Activists at the scene said the activity there did not require prior coordination with Israeli authorities. In a separate incident elsewhere in the village’s lands, settlers were recorded attacking Palestinian harvesters.

Earlier on Friday, settlers walked from the settlement of Beit El toward Ein Qiniya. Footage shows them firing live rounds into the air. According to Palestinian reports, they also threw stones at vehicles and vandalized a monument. Additional footage shows soldiers escorting the settlers out of the area.

The road west of Beit El, known as the Wallerstein Route, was closed to Israeli traffic following the Second Intifada in the early 2000s and runs partly through Areas A and B of the West Bank. Settlers have recently launched a campaign calling on the IDF to reopen the route, which connects Beit El to the Talmonim settlement bloc, to Israeli traffic.

On Friday morning, settlers were filmed vandalizing and setting fire to olive trees in Wadi al-Shaer, east of Salfit, an area where reports of settler attacks have increased since a nearby outpost was established.

According to Palestinian reports, settlers attacked olive harvesters with pepper spray in Deir Ballut, west of Salfit, and attacked harvesters and their vehicle on land belonging to the village of Deir Abu Mash’al. Settlers were also reported to have attacked Palestinian harvesters near the entrance roundabout to the West Bank city of Rawabi.

In the town of Beita, settlers reportedly drove harvesters off village land on two separate occasions. According to the reports, soldiers are stationed in Wadi Abu ‘Awwin, preventing Palestinian farmers from reaching their land while using riot-control measures.

In Jurish, in the Nablus area, settlers reportedly attacked three olive harvesters, who were taken to a local clinic for medical treatment. Settlers were also reported to have set fire to a Palestinian vehicle on land belonging to the village of Tell.

In the town of Kafr al-Dik, a Palestinian man was reportedly attacked by settlers while harvesting olives. Settlers were also reported to have attacked harvesters between Deir Sharaf and Naqura. Later reports said that, after driving the Palestinian harvesters away, settlers set fire to olive groves in the area.

Footage released by Torat Tzedek (“Torah of Justice”), a social justice nonprofit, appears to show underage settlers stealing agricultural equipment from a fenced Palestinian olive grove on the outskirts of Taybeh.  The minors were later filmed using the equipment while stealing olives from a Palestinian grove. Settlers were also reported to have stolen olives from land belonging to the village of Duma.

Palestinians reported that a fire broke out in olive groves near Burqa, close to Nablus, after IDF forces used riot-control measures.

Haaretz reported Wednesday that Palestinians in the West Bank have been told that Israel is working to prevent volunteers from accompanying them during the olive harvest and to close groves where volunteers are present.

Sources in the local Palestinian government said Israel’s District Coordination and Liaison Office had warned grove owners not to bring Israeli or foreign volunteers, threatening to cancel all coordinated olive picking in the area if they did.

The move contradicts Israeli military directives stating that “Palestinians have the right to access their lands accompanied by Israelis, such as aid and human rights organizations.”

According to the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, 109 incidents of violence directly related to the olive harvest were documented in 75 Palestinian communities across the West Bank in the 10 days following the intermediate days of Sukkot, before the official start of the harvest season.

The group’s figures include 21 incidents involving physical assaults on olive harvesters, 24 cases in which settlers or soldiers prevented the harvest, 75 cases of crop theft, and 22 acts of damage to or destruction of olive trees.

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