West Bank: Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers during olive harvest

The deadly attack is part of a series of Israeli attacks: settlers are said to have attacked farmers with live ammunition, attacked journalists and damaged olive trees. The violence is overshadowing the harvest and making it increasingly difficult for Palestinian farmers to access their fields.

Shots because of a stone?

The Israeli military said both soldiers and settlers used firearms in Wednesday's incident. The soldiers responded to a report that a Palestinian had thrown a stone at a settler. However, the military did not explain why the settlers were in the area.

Reuters journalists have observed several incidents in the past two weeks in which the Israeli military and settlers prevented Palestinians from reaching their olive groves.

At least 30 Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the man killed as 44-year-old Ali Hassan Yusor al-Bazzari. It was initially unclear whether he had been killed by the Israeli military or by settlers. Witnesses reported that Israeli soldiers protected the settlers. At the funeral after the attack, al-Bazzari's 12-year-old son Danial wept over his father's body, which was later covered with a Palestinian flag.

The olive harvest, which takes place from October to November, comes at a time of increasing violence in the West Bank. Israeli settlers have killed at least 30 Palestinians this year, according to the Palestinian Authority. The agency also reported that more than 45,000 trees were felled or damaged across the West Bank in the first half of 2026, including more than 26,000 olive trees.

Violence by radical settlers prevents Palestinians from harvesting

Olive trees have great importance for Palestinians. They represent their connection to their land and at the same time are an important source of income - especially in view of increasing economic pressure. "For us, the olive tree is life," said Tayseer Al-Sheikh, a 64-year-old Palestinian farmer from the area around the village of Rantis, northwest of Ramallah.

Fear of violence from settlers had prevented him from reaching and cultivating his olive groves for a year. It was only during this year's harvest that he was able to reach them again, accompanied by activists who offered protection through their presence. For Al-Sheikh, the loss is measured not only in the number of trees or the amount of olive oil produced, but also in how people's relationship with their land changes.