US journalist among injured in Israeli settler attacks

US journalist among injured in Israeli settler attacks
2026-10-16T15:21:11+00:00

Shafaq News- West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and olive harvesters across the West Bank on Friday, injuring several people, including an American journalist, Palestinian media said.

Settlers in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, assaulted farmers on at least two occasions, injuring a 63-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported. American journalist Heidi Levine, 63, a contributor to The Washington Post, was also hurt while covering the violence, reportedly suffering fractures and bruises to her hands and feet that required medical treatment.

In nearby Turmus Ayya, Palestinian outlets said a civil defense volunteers’ vehicle caught fire during a settler attack, while confrontations broke out in Deir Jarir, where Israeli troops also entered the village. Settlers targeted a young olive picker in Deir Dibwan and reached the outskirts of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah.

Attacks Around Nablus And Salfit

Two farmers were wounded during an assault on olive harvesters in Beita, south of Nablus. The PRCS also recorded injuries to a woman and two young men in Asira Al-Qibliya, while settlers reportedly sprayed farmers with pepper spray in Aqraba, southeast of the city. In nearby Qabalan, confrontations with residents forced the attackers to flee.

Settlers also disrupted olive harvesting in Al-Sawiya and Beit Dajan, stealing the collected crop in Al-Sawiya, while in Madama they seized agricultural equipment and emptied containers of olives onto the ground.

Israeli forces chased farmers from their fields in Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya, where a military vehicle overturned during the pursuit, according to Palestinian media, which said settlers in Deir Ballut, west of Salfit, assaulted farmers before Israeli troops arrested several of the victims.

Incidents In Al-Khalil And Jenin

In Beit Ummar, north of Al-Khalil, settlers beat and injured a young olive harvester, the PRCS said, while near Masafer Yatta, settlers accompanied by Israeli soldiers forced members of the Shatat family off their farmland in the Aghziweh area.

Elderly farmer Jibril Al-Naamin also reported being beaten while picking olives in Masafer Yatta, telling Palestinian local media, “An olive tree is more precious than a son. We will only leave when we are dead.”

Troops also detained two young men, one near the Deir Samet junction in Al-Khalil and another near the Martyrs’ Triangle, south of Jenin, and raided Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, along with Burin, south of Nablus. Settlers accompanied by Israeli forces drove farmers off their land in Jalbun, east of Jenin, while other groups entered the Jaba junction south of the city. During a raid in Kafr Dan, west of Jenin, Israeli soldiers damaged household belongings, alarming residents.

Israeli rabbi Dov Lior reportedly issued a religious ruling endorsing the seizure of Palestinian olives and encouraging settlers to expand the practice across the West Bank, portraying it as “a religious and national obligation.”

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission documented 2,256 incidents across the West Bank in July, attributing 1,458 to Israeli forces and 798 to settlers. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, at least 1,183 Palestinians, including 210 children, have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society recorded approximately 26,000 arrests across the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the same period.

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