Israeli settlers attack West Bank olive harvesters, injuring US photojournalist
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The gist
Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers near Abu Falah, injuring 12 and beating photojournalist Heidi Levine.
Harvest attack counts this year already exceed all of last season.
Background
Heidi Levine is a 64-year-old US photojournalist on assignment for The Washington Post, who was beaten while covering the olive harvest in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. The West Bank has been under Israeli military rule since the 1967 Mideast war and is home to around 3 million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers. Settler violence has soared this year and spiked in the weeks before Israel's election on Oct. 27; sources note the far-right government has emboldened settlers, and every year settlers use the harvest period to assert control over agricultural land.
How it unfolded
- Oct 7, 2026Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazzari, 44, was killed during an assault on Palestinians picking olives near Burqa, northwest of Nablus; witnesses reported settlers and Israeli soldiers attacked the harvesters.
- Oct 16, 2026Dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked farmers near Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, throwing stones, using slingshots, setting olive trees on fire and assaulting Palestinians; Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was knocked down, kicked repeatedly and had her cameras and phone stolen.
- Oct 16, 2026Local officials and the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported attacks in at least eight villages in the northern West Bank; medics tended to 14 wounded people in six locations. A local official said 12 Palestinians were injured near Khirbet Abu Falah, including four dual Palestinian-American citizens.
- Oct 16, 2026Reuters reported about 80 settlers descended from a hill toward olive pickers; at least two Israeli military jeeps sped through the area partway through the attack, which continued after the army's arrival, and soldiers fired tear gas toward Palestinians. Levine was rushed to Ramallah Government Hospital and was in stable condition, per the Foreign Press Association.
- Oct 17, 2026Masked Israeli settlers attacked a delegation including Belgian, French and Polish diplomats, a French mayor, Catholic representatives and Palestinian residents near Taybeh; a Belgian diplomatic vehicle was reportedly damaged and several delegation members were assaulted.
- Oct 18, 2026The EU condemned the settler attacks on EU diplomats and Palestinians and said it expects full accountability.
- Oct 19, 2026Israeli police said they arrested 10 unnamed suspects on suspicion of acts of violence, violating a closed military zone order and illegal construction. UN independent human rights experts warned Palestinian farmers face renewed threats and urged Israel to guarantee their protection and safe access to their land.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Israel's military condemned the violence, acknowledged a journalist was injured in Abu Falah and said it would examine all circumstances, adding that attacks on innocent civilians are grave and unacceptable.
- Analysts
- Yesh Din executive director Ziv Stahl said soldiers are not stopping the violence and are sometimes assisting settlers in the attacks.
- Expert
- Amnesty International's Heba Morayef called the harvest a season of horror and said the attacks are not isolated acts but a central policy of the Israeli state, urging states to halt trade and cooperation and impose targeted sanctions.
- Support
- US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee welcomed the arrests as a very positive development and called the attack on Levine a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards.
- Caution
- The Washington Post said Levine wore visible markings identifying her as a journalist and urged a thorough investigation, while the Foreign Press Association called on Israel's Central Command to stop making excuses and protect civilians.
Still unverified
Settlers reportedly threw stones, used slingshots, set olive trees on fire and assaulted Palestinians on 16 October; a Belgian diplomatic vehicle was reportedly damaged during the 17 October attack near Taybeh.