Israeli Settlers Abduct 7 Palestinians in West Bank Olive Harvest Raids
A state-run radio broadcaster reported that three farmers were abducted from their land near the town of Nahhalin in Bethlehem province, in the southern West Bank. The broadcaster gave no further details on their whereabouts.
In northern Nablus province, another farmer was abducted while harvesting olives in the town of Beit Imrin, the broadcaster said. His fate was not immediately known.
Separately, south of the town of Beita, witnesses told a news agency that Israeli settlers assaulted three Palestinian farmers during the harvest. The wounded men were taken to a local medical center for treatment, the witnesses said.
The state-run radio broadcaster also reported that three Palestinians were abducted during an attack on farmers in Qaffin, north of Tulkarm, again without providing details.
Farmers face attacks, crop theft
In the central West Bank, the Al-Baidar human rights organization said settlers seized harvested olives and let livestock loose on Palestinian farmland in the village of Aboud, northwest of Ramallah.
The group warned that such attacks “damage citizens’ land and agricultural crops and threaten the livelihoods of Palestinian families, particularly as the olive harvest season continues.”
Earlier Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams treated 10 people after an attack by Israeli forces and settlers on olive pickers in the village of Deir Abu Mashal, in Ramallah and Al-Bireh province. One person suffered a live-fire injury, two were hit by rubber bullets and seven were hurt in physical assaults, the organization said.
The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported 12 settler attacks on farmers by shortly before noon Saturday. Incidents included assaults, detentions, beatings, pepper spray attacks, property theft, attacks on homes, the demolition of a wall and road blockages, the commission said. It added that olive pickers were forced off their land.
Thousands of olive trees damaged
According to the Palestinian accounts supplied, attacks by Israeli forces and settlers on farmers have intensified since the harvest began in early October. They have included physical assaults, limits on access to farmland, crop theft and the uprooting and destruction of trees.
The commission said more than 45,000 trees, including more than 26,000 olive trees, were cut down or damaged across the West Bank in the first half of 2026.
Official Palestinian figures put the number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, at about 750,000, living in 194 settlements and 400 outposts.
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