Videos show Israeli settler violence during West Bank olive harvest

Israelis living in illegal West Bank settlements have been assaulting Palestinians as they attempt to bring in the olive harvest in the occupied territory this week, leaving at least one woman in hospital with serious injuries.

The Associated Press (AP) news agency said it had seen video footage of masked men chasing Palestinian farmers and activists through olive groves near the town of Turmus Ayya on Sunday.

In one video, a masked man who reportedly appeared to be wearing Jewish religious clothing could apparently be seen beating a woman as she lay motionless on the ground. Other footage reportedly shows men in masks pursuing and clubbing a car.

"Settler violence has skyrocketed in scale and frequency," said Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territory, in a statement released on Tuesday.

"Two weeks into the start of the 2025 harvest, we have already seen severe attacks by armed settlers against Palestinian men, women, children and foreign solidarity activists."

According to the United Nations, the first half of 2025 saw a 13% increase in violent assaults on Palestinians by Israeli settlers compared to the same period last year, with 757 documented attacks causing casualties or damage to property.

The first week of this year's olive harvest season has seen more than 700 olive trees uprooted, broken or poisoned in over 150 settler attacks, according to Muayyad Shaaban, whose department in the Palestinian Authority tracks settler violence.

Israel's Channel 12 broadcaster reported that the head of the West Bank police force said in an internal police WhatsApp group that the footage of the masked settler beating the woman "kept him up at night" and instructed officers to bring the settler to justice.

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