Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian warehouse and land as West Bank attacks surge

Today, Tuesday, dozens of Israeli settlers carried out arson attacks targeting a Palestinian warehouse, a Bedouin village, and agricultural land in the northern occupied West Bank.

A number of Palestinians were injured.

These incidents are the latest in a recent wave of settler violence that coincided with the olive harvest season, when Palestinians head to their agricultural lands around towns and villages.

It comes after the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said the number of violent settler attacks last month was the highest since it began collecting figures nearly 20 years ago.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem – the lands where the Palestinians, along with Gaza, want to establish their hoped-for future state – during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.

Settlements are illegal under international law.

Video footage on Tuesday shows dozens of masked men on a hill east of Tulkarm. A Palestinian warehouse in Beit Lid was attacked, and trucks were set on fire.

Tents can be seen on fire in the Bedouin village of Deir Sharaf, with the sounds of women screaming in the background.

Palestinian Authority Minister Moayed Shaaban and head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said that the attacks come as part of a campaign to impose a “hostile environment through intimidation and terrorism.”

The IDF said that forces went to the scene “to disperse the confrontation using riot dispersal means and arrested several Israeli civilians.” He added that the soldiers were then attacked by settlers who were gathering nearby, which led to damage to their vehicle.

Israeli police reported that four suspects were arrested.

In a post on X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the recent events as “shocking and dangerous,” and placed the blame on “a handful of violent and dangerous individuals.”

He continued: “Such violence against civilians and against IDF soldiers crosses a red line, and I strongly condemn it.”

The head of the Israeli army’s Central Command, Major General Avi Bluth, also condemned the attacks, saying that such incidents “undermine the stability of the security situation.”

“The reality in which anarchist youth act violently against innocent civilians and against security forces is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. It must be dealt with firmly,” he told officers in comments sent by the Israeli military.

“The guidance to IDF soldiers is clear: do not stand idly by and do everything in your power to prevent any act of national crime.”

Tuesday’s large-scale attack was a rare example of Israeli law enforcement moving to confront settler violence, which has increased dramatically since Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the Gaza War.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says October saw more than 260 Israeli settler attacks resulting in injuries, property damage, or both – an average of eight incidents per day.

Reports indicate that settler violence during the olive harvest season has reached the highest level recorded in recent years, with about 150 attacks documented so far, resulting in the injury of more than 140 Palestinians and the destruction of more than 4,200 trees and saplings in 77 villages.

Since the beginning of the year, approximately 1,500 settler attacks have been recorded.

Tom Fletcher, the UN emergency relief coordinator, recently wrote on X: “Failure to prevent or punish such attacks is inconsistent with international law. Palestinians must be protected. Impunity cannot prevail. The perpetrators of these attacks must be held accountable.”

Palestinians and human rights groups often accuse the Israeli army of protecting or aiding extremist settlers.

On Tuesday, hundreds of mourners participated in the funeral of the child Aysem Maalla (13 years old) in the town of Beita, near Nablus. He was reported to have been in a coma since inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli army while villagers were picking olives last month, near the Eviatar outpost.

In some cases, Israeli activists and foreign volunteers came to help Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest, and were also attacked.

On Saturday, videos from PETA posted on social media showed masked men using batons to beat local Palestinians and volunteer medics, as well as a Reuters news agency photographer and a security adviser.

A 77-year-old Israeli civilian, the head of the Tel Aviv Arts College, who joined the harvest was also photographed with blood running down his face.

The BBC has contacted the Israeli army for comment on this incident.

In the nearby village of Burin, settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers and an off-duty IDF reservist who was assisting them. Settlers also stole bags of olives.

The Israeli army said in a statement: “Many Israeli civilians threw stones at the harvesters. A number of Israelis and Palestinians were injured and evacuated to receive medical treatment.” She added that her soldiers “worked to resolve the confrontation.”

The olive harvest season is a major annual event for Palestinians and an important source of income for many.

According to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now, the number of new homes in West Bank settlements for which bids have been published in 2025 has already reached an all-time annual high of 5,667 housing units. It says it is designed to accommodate about 25,000 residents.

The pro-settlement Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, prioritized accelerating the planning and approval process for new settler housing, as well as expropriating land for settlement construction and infrastructure, and retroactively legalizing settlement outposts established without permission from the Israeli government.

In addition to his work as Minister of Finance, Smotrich holds a ministerial position responsible for civil affairs in the West Bank. He has declared that his efforts aim to de facto annex the Western Exclusion Zone and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.