UNRWA:
West Bank olive harvest sees worst Israeli settler attacks this year
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned of a sharp escalation in Zionist settler violence targeting Palestinians during this year’s olive-harvest season in the occupied West Bank.
UNRWA said in a statement on Saturday that October is on track to become the most violent month for Jewish settler-related attacks since the agency began documenting such incidents in 2013.
“Across the West Bank, settler violence targeting the annual olive harvest has continued, with ongoing attacks on Palestinian farmers and lands,” the agency said.
Roland Friedrich, UNRWA’s director in the occupied West Bank, described the situation as a direct assault on Palestinian livelihood and cultural heritage.
“The annual olive harvest is the primary livelihood for tens of thousands of Palestinians, with olive trees deeply rooted in Palestinian heritage and identity,” Friedrich said, warning that attacks on the olive harvest “threaten the very way of life for many Palestinians and further deepen the coercive environment in the occupied West Bank.”
He said that Palestinian families “should be allowed unhindered access to their lands to harvest their olives in safe conditions.”
According to reports, Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers in the village of Burin, south of Nablus, and assaulted several of them on Saturday.
Illegal settlers reportedly stormed farmland between Burin and the nearby town of Huwara, beat multiple harvesters and forced them to leave the fields.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),126 attacks were recorded in 70 Palestinian towns and villages, while over 4,000 olive trees and saplings were vandalized.
It said the 2025 olive harvest season has so far "witnessed the highest level of damage and number of affected communities due to settler attacks since 2020."
OCHA said that 60 of the documented attacks involved direct assaults on Palestinian civilians, with at least 17 people injured and 19 vehicles vandalized in the past week alone.
The olive harvest, which is traditionally a period of community and family activity, has increasingly been marred by harassment, destruction of property, and violent assaults by Israeli settlers in recent years.