#IsraeliSettlers torch cars and trees in #WestBank villages, disrupting #Palestinians’ #OliveHarvest
By SAM METZ and LEO CORREA
Updated 2:45 PM EDT, October 16, 2026
ABU FALAH, West Bank (AP) — "Israeli settlers attacked #Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank on Friday, setting fire to cars and trees and beating residents and a foreign #journalist, in the latest violence to disrupt the territory’s annual #olive harvest this month.
"Local officials and the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported attacks in at least eight villages in the northern West Bank, where most of the #OliveGroves are concentrated and tens of thousands of Palestinian families depend on them for income.
" #Settler violence against Palestinians has soared this year and spiked further in the weeks leading up to Israel’s #election on #October27 . The #FarRight government that has emboldened the settlers could soon be voted out of power — or win another term.
"Israeli authorities have done little to stop the attacks, according to residents and rights groups, who say the military has aided, protected or stood by as settlers lay siege to Palestinian villages. The violence has drawn accusations of ' #EthnicCleansing ' — including from the #BritishGovernment, which has said Israel is turning a 'blind eye' to the campaign underway.
" 'Soldiers aren’t stopping the violence or protecting Palestinians,' said Ziv Stahl, executive director of Israeli rights group Yesh Din. 'If anything, they’re sometimes assisting settlers in the attacks.”
Journalist attacked while covering harvest
"The West Bank has been under Israeli military rule since the 1967 #Mideast war and today is home to around 3 million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of #Humanitarian Affairs said last month that more than 1,600 attacks across the territory had been reported between January and August. #YeshDin and other rights groups say authorities rarely arrest or indict the perpetrators."
#IsraeliWarCrimes #IsraelElections #Elections2026 #FarRight #HumanRightsViolations #FreePalestine #WorldPol