West Bank Faces Worst Settler Violence in Five Years: UN

West Bank: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that this year’s olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank has seen the worst wave of Israeli settler violence in the past five years.

According to OCHA’s statement on Thursday, 126 settler attacks have targeted 70 Palestinian villages and communities, destroying more than 4,000 olive trees and saplings — the highest number since 2021.

The report said settlers from newly built illegal Israeli outposts are blocking Palestinian farmers from reaching their olive groves, cutting off their main source of income.

OCHA also confirmed 60 violent incidents against Palestinians since the start of the harvest season, injuring 17 people and damaging 19 vehicles in just one week.

Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Territories, condemned the rise in violence, saying:

“Settler violence has skyrocketed with the support and, in many cases, participation of Israeli armed forces — and always with impunity.”

He said that in the first half of 2025 alone, 757 settler attacks caused casualties or property damage — a 13% increase compared to the same period last year.

Settlers have been accused of burning fields, cutting olive trees with chainsaws, and damaging homes and farms. Sunghay warned that these actions are part of an accelerated Israeli land grab, as officials openly state plans to occupy all of the West Bank.

OHCHR data show that in 2023, 96,000 dunums (9,600 hectares) of olive groves were left unharvested due to settler attacks, resulting in more than $10 million in losses for Palestinian farmers — a situation that has worsened through 2024 and 2025.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since October 7, 2023, when Israel began its deadly assault on Gaza, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and 10,000 injured in the Occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and military forces.