Israeli settlers cut down over 100 olive trees during West Bank harvest
18/10/2026 | 18:42:10
Ramallah, Oct. 18 (Petra) - Israeli occupation forces and settlers on Sunday escalated attacks against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, destroying olive trees, expelling farmers, issuing demolition notices, and launching violent crackdowns inside Israeli prisons.
In Kisan, a village south of Bethlehem, settlers chopped down 120 olive trees on a 10-dunam farm owned by local resident Ali Abu Daya. The village routinely faces settler violence seeking to drive farmers off their land.
Jaba', a village near Jenin, Israeli soldiers expelled Palestinian farmers near the former Sanur military post, fired tear gas, and arrested a young man. Jaba Mayor Mohammad Badad warned that driving farmers off their land aids settler efforts to build an outpost, jeopardizing the local economy and olive harvest.
Nearby, Al-Bidar Human Rights Organization reported that Israeli troops served several demolition notices along the eastern bypass road near Jenin.
Concurrently, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported severe crackdowns against Palestinian detainees in Israeli facilities since the third anniversary of October 7. Testimonies collected from prison visits reveal systematic abuse, rubber bullet use, tear gas, starvation, medical neglect, and severe physical and psychological humiliation.
At Damon Prison, female detainees endured three raids in a single day, involving flashbangs, tear gas, pepper spray, forced binding, and filming while restrained, resulting in injuries, suffocation, and the solitary confinement of 15 women.
Similar violent raids involving rubber bullets and hospitalizations were reported at facilities including Ofer, Negev, and Megiddo prisons.
//Petra// HA