Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian families from the town of Ya’bad, west of Jenin, on Friday while they were gathering their annual olive harvest, local sources said.
The attackers targeted farmers working on their land near Khirbet Srouj, including the family of brothers Wafiq and Muwafaq Houshiya. Sources stated that the assailants stole quantities of harvested olives alongside harvesting equipment and agricultural tools.
Local sources confirmed that settlers had established a colonial outpost in Khirbet Srouj after forcibly displacing its Palestinian residents in recent months. The move forms part of ongoing attacks targeting Palestinian land and farmers in the area to block access to their property during the olive harvest.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements across the West Bank. All of these settlements are deemed illegal under international law, and outposts are built without official government approval.
The violence followed military enforcement actions on Thursday. The Israeli military stated that it intervened and took down two unauthorized outposts built by settlers in the occupied West Bank, removing tents, vehicles, and temporary structures.
The Israeli rights group Yesh Din reported that dozens of settlers, armed with clubs, tear gas, and stones, stormed the village of Atara after military forces left the area. Five residents were injured and hospitalised during the raid, including one person in serious condition with a brain haemorrhage.
The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that one of the injured victims was 67 years old. The military added that during enforcement activity near Atara, Israeli rioters barricaded themselves inside structures before being dispersed.
Abdelhadi Atari, a resident of Atara and local journalist, said settlers broke into and vandalised Palestinian houses soon after the army arrived. He noted that the military had blocked the village from several directions ahead of the dismantling operation, which helped the settlers attack and operate freely inside the village.
"The children were terrorized," Atari said. "The settlers ripped doors off houses. Some houses had their doors torn off, and all the windows were smashed."
More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the October 7, 2023, attack by Gaza-based Hamas on Israel. Most casualties were caused by Israeli soldiers, while others resulted from settler violence, according to a tally based on Palestinian Health Ministry data.
In September, several countries, including Britain and France, announced trade sanctions on products originating from settlements in response to the violence.
