Attack on the olive harvest (2026)

For 2026, the olive harvest in the occupied West Bank is taking place in a particularly restrictive and violent context. Even if the harvest has not yet fully begun as of 30 September 2026, some incidents and obsruction from the settlers and/or the soldiers were already reported. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture set 15 October as the start date for harvesting the main Nabali Baladi variety, with some other varieties beginning on 5 November. Pickling olives could be harvested from 20 September. The ministry estimates approximately 21,000 tonnes of olive oil for the 2026 season.

The 2026 season follows extensive destruction of olive trees. In September, Israeli military bulldozers uprooted large olive groves near Deir Nizam, north-west of Ramallah, shortly before the harvest. Reuters reported that approximately 9 acres of olive trees belonging to several Palestinian farmers were destroyed. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture documented, for example, the uprooting of around 500 olive trees over 26 dunams near Jalbun and Faqqu'a in March. Thousands of trees were uprooted or cut by settlers or soldiers during the past year.

Access to olive groves is already being restricted. On 29 September, for example, Palestinian farmers from Deir Istiya, west of Salfit, were prevented from reaching their olive groves by settlers. The report says the settlers were accompanied/protected by Israeli occupation forces.

Settler attacks are a major concern for the harvest. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture launched its 2026 campaign specifically around protecting farmers and their land, with particular attention to “hotspots,” areas near settlements and land behind the Separation Wall. This is happening against a background of increasing settler attacks in 2026. A lot of incidents of settlers stealing the olive at the end of September in the Palestinian agricultural land were observed.

Access restrictions are structural: OCHA reports that Palestinian farmers whose land is near settlements or between the Barrier and the Green Line may require permits or prior coordination with the Israeli military. In April 2026, OCHA reported that 98 Palestinian communities in nine governorates were required to use prior-coordination arrangements to access farmland near settlements

On September 29, an Israeli Knesset committee, chaired by MK Tzvika Foghel, discussed security preparations for the olive harvest after MK Limor Sonn Har Melech claimed Palestinians and left-wing activists exploit the harvest to gather intelligence and attack settlers. Elisha Yered made similar allegations.

MK Gilad Kariv countered that 130 cases of harm to Palestinian farmers had been documented, including preventing access to their land, and criticized the lack of an effective real-time response to Palestinian reports of settler violence. Avi Dabush of Rabbis for Human Rights also reported violence against Palestinian farmers and volunteers.

Police, Civil Administration and military representatives said forces would be deployed at friction points, with intelligence monitoring and 24-hour coordination. Committee chair Foghel called for early preventive action and said a closed hearing with Shin Bet representatives would follow.

Timeline of the main events:

28 Sept — Beita, Nablus: settlers entered Palestinian land and stole an unspecified quantity of harvested olives. Similar thefts were reported in Khirbet Masoud, Sinjil, Turmus Ayya and Umm Safa. In Deir Abu Mash'al, a Palestinian vehicle was set on fire.

29 Sept — Deir Istiya, Salfit: settlers, protected by Israeli forces, prevented farmers from reaching their olive groves and harvesting.

On October 1 in Odla, Nablus: settlers attacked olive harvesters and prevented them from harvesting

On 1st October, masked settlers from nearby outposts attacked Palestinian farmers and Israeli activists supporting them during the olive harvest in Jannatah, near Bethlehem, using clubs, stones and pepper spray. Four activists were injured and three were hospitalized, including two with head injuries. IDF soldiers arrived after the attack.

**On October 1, **in Yasuf, Salfit, settlers attacked Palestinian homes and opened fire. Mashhour Shaher Yassin, 51, was killed; two others were injured by live ammunition. Several people were detained.

On October 1, in al-Mughayyir, settlers were filmed vandalizing olive trees and stealing olives, while soldiers were present.

On 2 October, Baha al-Natshah, 19, from Kafr Aqab, was shot dead near Kobar, west of Ramallah, during clashes involving settlers and Israeli forces. Reports differ on whether the fatal shot was fired by settlers or the IDF; his body was reportedly taken by the Israeli army.

On October 2, settlers, protected by Israeli occupation forces, attacked residents and farmers in the Jabal Qamas area of Beita. The settlers attacked farmers and activists in Jabal al-Arma, east of Beita, during which live ammunition was fired and residents were prevented from reaching their lands or picking their olive. Soldiers arriving to support the settlers, and fired tera gas and stun grenades on the residents, the activists and the journalists on the scene. At least one Palestinian was injured.

On October 2, in the Nablus governorate: attacks on harvesters were reported in Urif, Jamma'in, Awarta, Asira al-Qibliya, Beit Furik and Deir Sharaf. Three Palestinians were injured; in Deir Sharaf, a farmer and his wife were beaten and wounded. Israeli forces also used stun grenades and tear gas.

On October 2, in Az-Zawiya, Salfit, a Palestinian olive picker was pepper-sprayed in the face and injured.

On October 3, settlers, protected by Israeli occupation forces, attacked residents and farmers again, in the Jabal Qamas area of Beita, south of Nablus, while they were harvesting olives, for the second day in the row. Local sources reported that the settlers attacked the olive pickers, while the dsoldiers intervened and detained a number of young men and solidarity activists who had come to the area to support the farmers. The Israeli forces also detained and assaulted several journalists while they were covering the events in the area, while military reinforcements were deployed to the town of Beita.

On October 3, in Osarin, Nablus: a 50-year-old farmer was beaten and hospitalized. Settlers also stoned homes and vehicles, causing property damage. In Jaba, Jenin and in Abud Dis Jerusalem, settlers set olive trees on fire.

On October 3, in Burin, Nablus: settlers attacked olive harvesters, stole agricultural equipment and harvested olives; three Palestinians suffered tear-gas inhalation during the army's intervention.

On October 14, Israeli soldiers stood by as settlers attacked farmers, expelling the Palestinians from their land as the settlers stole their olives, then distributed leaflets saying they were there to “maintain security”during the “blessed harvest season.”

On October 16, in Asira Al-Qibliya, Nablus: Three Palestinians were injured after settlers assaulted them while harvesting olives. Settlers also stole olives from farmland in Aqraba and Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya, where Israeli soldiers separately expelled farmers and confiscated their harvest.

On October 16, in Salfit, Settlers attacked olive harvesters west of Deir Ballut and seized a farmer’s vehicle key. Israeli forces subsequently ordered farmers to leave their land, threatening to shoot them if they returned.

On October 16, Jenin, Israeli forces and settlers forced farmers off their land in Jalbun, east of Jenin. Settlers also fired live ammunition and threw stun grenades toward homes.

On October 16, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive harvesters on the outskirts (in the al-Nab‘at area of Turmus Ayya), northeast of Ramallah, assaulting them and setting three vehicles on fire, olive trees, and a vehicle belonging to Civil Defense volunteers. They also assaulted a Civil Defense volunteer, injuring him. Several Palestinians sustained injuries in physical assaults, while others suffered from tear gas inhalation.

On October 16 in Abu Falah, large groups of settlers attacked olive pickers in the eastern part of the village and set olive trees on fire. They assaulted an American journalist from he Washington post, looting all her equipement. Heidi Levine sustained broken rib, four broken vertebrae, her finger was nearly cut off, multiple potential stabbing wounds. Surgery first thing in the morning. On the ground, Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at residents in an apparent attempt to force farmers off their land, shooting a Palestinian man in the thigh. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its crews treated two Palestinians who had been beaten by colonists: a 63-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man. Both were transferred to hospital.

Israeli forces and settlers renewed their attacks in Abu Falah and Turmus Ayya, with Israeli forces firing heavy volleys of tear gas at farmers, causing dozens of cases of suffocation.

On October 16 in Burqa, four Palestinians were injured when settlers attacked them while they were harvesting olives in the Khallet Ali area. The Red Crescent said its crews received the four injured Palestinians, who were transported to hospital.

Names of the martyrs:

Mashhour Shaher Muhammad Yassin (51) — killed on 1 October in Yasuf, Salfit Governorate.

Bahaa Sami Amin al-Natsheh (19) — killed on 2 October near Kobar; reports differ on whether settlers or Israeli forces fired the fatal shot.

Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazari (44) — killed on 7 October after an attack on Palestinian olive harvesters near Burqa and the Ramin Plain

for the 15 first days of olive harvest:

Israeli settlers carried out more than 200 attacks against Palestinians during the current olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank, surpassing the 185 recorded in the 2025 season, the UN said Thursday. Approximately 80% of incidents have occurred over the past two weeks. The attacks have killed at least four Palestinians since the harvest began, the Associated Press reported. More than 120 others have been wounded in the attacks, which have damaged over 2,500 olive trees and saplings.

As of 16 October 2026, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported more than 120 Palestinians injured in attacks related to the 2026 olive harvest in the occupied West Bank. At least one Palestinian had been killed, according to the UN's tally at that point. Separately, on 16 October, the Palestinian Red Crescent treated 14 injured people across six locations, while local officials reported additional injuries elsewhere.