Two Palestinians and an American journalist were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers during the olive harvest in the occupied West Bank

Dozens of masked settlers attacked Palestinians and set fire to cars and olive trees during the annual olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank.

A BBC team witnessed an attack on agricultural lands near the Palestinian village of Abu Falah.

A local official said that the attacks resulted in the injury of 12 Palestinians, including four who hold both Palestinian and American citizenship. Also among the injured was a foreign journalist.

As we drove into the area early in the morning, we encountered the first signs of violence: a stream of cars carrying injured Palestinian olive farmers rushing out of the farm area down a narrow, stone-strewn road, carrying olive harvesting equipment while plumes of smoke rose from fires nearby.

Majdi Fahid's bloodied face was peeking out from the back seat of one of these cars.

He said: “We were harvesting olive trees and suddenly about 15 Jewish people... started attacking us with guns, stones, and special weapons. They hit me on the head and neck. Look, I’m bleeding!”

Yasser Alqam, a local council member from the neighboring village of Turmus Aya, said that Majdi, an American citizen, was attacked by settlers with sticks with nails attached to them, and that he underwent treatment for deep head wounds in addition to the injury of his elderly mother.

Another man who was transporting the injured to the hospital said that settlers attacked them with sticks during the olive harvest, and burned three cars, including his car.

A woman standing next to him said: “As soon as we reached the ground and put our things down, they started moving towards us, so we ran away.”

When asked about the violence, a spokeswoman for the US State Department said that they were aware of the reports that monitored the incident.

She added: "We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank, and call for investigations, arrests and convictions against those responsible."

While watching the speeding cars pass by, Umm Khaldoun, 73 years old, stressed that she would always return to her land no matter what happened. “This is my land,” she said. “I have the right to be here.”

The United Nations says that the past two weeks have already witnessed more violent Israeli settler attacks than were recorded during the entire harvest season last year.

The olive harvest season in the West Bank has become a test of speed, as trees are quickly stripped of their fruit as soon as the sun rises, before violent Israeli settlers attack the farmers.

In another nearby olive grove, we saw dozens of farmers using power tools to strip trees as quickly as possible, their eyes watching the hill overlooking their land, where Israeli settlers had established a new illegal outpost and were monitoring the harvest season below.

The Palestinian farmers standing on the wooden ladders were working quickly to throw a shower of olives onto the plastic sheets spread under the trees.

Amin Khalil, the owner of the land, said that three villages came together to harvest these olives in what is considered a defense measure against settler attacks. He added that his land is now surrounded by seven Jewish settlements and outposts.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. Settlement outposts, which are small communities established on hilltops, are also illegal under Israeli law, but many of them still receive state support.

Amin Khalil said: “This is a hot area, there are seven settlements around us. This year everyone came together because the settlers attack people when a few of them work alone on the outskirts of the village. So all the families are working together today.”

But this tactic did not work today. While we were watching, dozens of settlers, all dressed in black, began to come down the hill towards us, and set fire to a large number of olive trees.

Screams of panic rose from the Palestinian farmers, who were screaming demanding that the children leave the fields. Some of them quickly began collecting olives in preparation for departure.

But with large numbers of people on both sides, the scene turned into a tense stalemate. We saw settlers using slingshots to throw stones at us, and young Palestinians running to respond by throwing stones as well.

With the arrival of Israeli forces, the state of tension escalated into an open confrontation. The settlers started running down towards us while the farmers quickly retreated. Some Palestinians launched fireworks in an attempt to force the settlers to retreat.

American journalist Heidi Levin, from the Washington Post, was injured in the attack. She described how dozens of settlers ambushed her while she was covering events at the site.

Heidi said: “I was attacked. I was on the ground and they were kicking me while I was trying to hold on to the camera and my bag. I was wearing a helmet and a protective vest, which protected me from these attacks. They forced me to stand and then kicked me again, and they continued to do so for at least ten minutes.”

Matt Murray, executive editor of The Washington Post, said in a statement that it was very clear that Levine is a journalist.

He added: "We are angry about this unprovoked attack on a journalist who was doing her work, and we demand a comprehensive investigation and follow-up by the authorities."

The Israeli army said that its members were sent to the area "following a report of a violent confrontation." He added that a female journalist was injured during the confrontation, and that "all circumstances" of the incident would be investigated.

What we witnessed was part of a pattern that is repeated day after day, with the number of settlement outposts in the region increasing.