Assaults and vandalism disrupt olive harvest near Ramallah - As-salamu alaykum
As-salamu alaykum. A disturbing scene from this year’s olive harvest in the occupied West Bank has shaken many: a young masked man striking an older Palestinian woman picking olives, causing her to fall. The attack, filmed by a foreign journalist, happened in Turmus Ayya near Ramallah, a place that has seen heavy violence this season. Witness Yasser Alkam said people fled when “maybe 100” settlers suddenly attacked; he also said one Swedish activist suffered broken arm and leg injuries. The woman, 55-year-old Um Saleh Abu Aliya, was hit while waiting for her son to drive her away from the mob. Local farmer Nael Al-Qouq said resisting would only bring more harm, sometimes with the army’s support, and reported he was stopped from reaching his own olive trees the same day. Nearby, an Israeli flag flew at an outpost that is considered illegal even under Israeli law. The army later arrived and used tear gas to disperse the crowd, but not before youths burned at least two cars. Israeli police leaders reportedly ordered their teams to find the attacker, and the army said it coordinates with police to enforce the law when Israelis are involved. Unfortunately, Turmus Ayya is not unique. Journalists counted at least six cases this harvest where Palestinians were barred from their land, attacked by settlers, or had property vandalized during the 2025 olive season. Clashes in rural areas have risen, driven by expanding settlements and more settlers in the West Bank, though not all settlers take part in violence. Over 500,000 Israelis now live in settlements in the West Bank, territory occupied since 1967; international law regards these settlements as illegal. In nearby Al-Mughayyir, one villager said he was completely prevented from harvesting. Abdul Latif Abu Aliya said the ten dunams he once tended were largely uprooted, leaving only the trees by his house. After an incident in which a settler was hurt near his home, an army order led to his family’s ancestral trees being uprooted and bulldozers dumping soil and roots across their land, creating a barrier the family avoids for fear of more attacks. Facing what the Palestinian Authority calls unprecedented violence this season, the agriculture minister appealed to the international community to protect farmers and pickers. “It’s the worst season in the last 60 years,” Agriculture Minister Rizq Salimia said, noting the crop was already suffering from poor weather. The UN human rights office in the Palestinian territories condemned the severe attacks and warned of dangerous levels of impunity for those responsible. Once a peaceful, family-centered event, the annual olive harvest has in recent years become marked by violent confrontations involving settlers, security forces, Palestinian harvesters, and international volunteers. The season, which runs from October into mid-November, remains central to Palestinian life and identity: the West Bank has millions of olive trees that many families tend by hand each autumn. The UN’s humanitarian agency reported dozens of villages affected by harvest-related attacks in a single week in October, citing assaults on harvesters, theft of crops and equipment, and vandalism of olive trees that caused casualties and property losses.
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