Israel Palestine United Kingdom

Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villagers harvesting olives in Abu Falah in the West Bank on Friday, burning trees and throwing rocks in violence that injured at least two people, including Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, according to Reuters witnesses and Palestinian medics.

About 80 settlers came down from a hill overlooking the terraced grove, where residents of Abu Falah had gathered to collect ripe olives. Some carried gas canisters, Reuters witnesses said. The annual harvest is described as an important tradition in Palestinian life.

The settlers positioned themselves along the terraces and some used slings to hurl stones at the villagers. Palestinians moved down the hill before some picked up and threw stones in response, the witnesses said.

“The settlers want to attack us and force us from our homes,” said Moutaz Abdelhadi, a 42-year-old farmer who witnessed the incident in Abu Falah.

During the confrontation, at least two Israeli military jeeps drove through the area as villagers moved out of their path, sending up clouds of dust. The attack continued after the vehicles arrived, Reuters reported. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas towards Palestinians who had avoided the jeeps, while live gunfire could be heard nearby. A Reuters photographer saw at least one armed settler fire a gun.

Palestinian medics said two people were taken to hospitals in the Ramallah area. Levine was among those injured. The Israeli military and The Washington Post did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Further violence reported near Turmus Ayya

Another attack was reported on Friday morning near the village of Turmus Ayya, where settlers attacked farmers picking olives and burned three cars. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that incident.

Salah Abu Niswa, who said he witnessed the Turmus Ayya attack, said the settlers “snuck up like thieves; they caught someone by himself and began to beat him.”

Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has increased during the olive harvest, according to Yesh Din, an Israeli group that monitors settlements. The group recorded at least 170 attacks since September 27, around the beginning of the harvest period.

The source material says settlers have been emboldened under the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has overseen rapid growth in settlements and smaller outposts across the West Bank. Netanyahu has criticised settler violence but, according to the report, has taken few steps to stop incidents that have prompted international condemnation and proposals for sanctions from allies including Britain.

About 500,000 settlers and at least 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank. United Nations bodies and most countries consider Israeli settlements there illegal under international law governing military occupations. Israel disputes that position, describing the territory as disputed rather than occupied.