Colonial Israeli settlers (militias) have been terrorising Palestinians and wreaking havoc yet again. This time it was in the occupied West Bank village of Turmus Ayya, northwest of Ramallah, over the weekend. Two farmers and a foreign activist were injured, while vehicles were torched and had their windscreens smashed.
Israeli settlers enabled by occupation soldiers
American Journalist Jasper Nathaniel was in Turmus Ayya at the time, helping with the olives, and narrowly escaped injury, even death, as he was chased by settlers. He says it was the first day of olive picking in the village. Local farmers and activists had gathered together early in the morning to drive to the fields, but an armed settler was blocking their route. Nathaniel then asked the occupation soldiers, who were in a vehicle on the land, for help in getting back to the village, explaining their route was blocked. But instead of helping, the Israeli occupation forces set him and the Palestinian farmers up for an ambush before abandoning them to face the violent Zionist settlers alone, as this video shows:
55-year-old Umm Saleh Abu Alia, a mother of five, was knocked unconscious by a club-wielding masked settler during the incident. The man then hit her again as she lay on the ground. She was taken to hospital with internal bleeding in her brain, but has now been moved from intensive care and is in a stable condition.
Nathaniel said Israeli colonial settlers are ‘hunting Palestinians’ and, if nothing changes, the entire Palestinian village could be overrun.
An international peace activist was also attacked and sustained injuries.
The village risks being overrun
Turmus Ayya is surrounded by illegal settlements, and settler violence has been severe and recurrent. One of the most brutal incidents occurred on June 21, 2023, when more than 300 settlers stormed the village. They firebombed about 30 houses and destroyed 60 cars, resulting in the death of a Palestinian resident, Omar Qattin, who was shot dead during the assault. Settlers employed coordinated and violent tactics, including using firearms, clubs, and flammable liquids.
October is the annual olive harvest season, a crucial source of income for Palestinians. Every year it is marked by an increase in already escalating attacks by illegal colonial Jewish settlers. They are supported and protected by Israeli occupation forces. Farmers are terrorised and intimidated, property is set alight and land and trees are destroyed. Things very often turn violent.
The aim behind these attacks is to forcibly displace Palestinians, by any means possible. This is all part of the Israeli occupation’s racist, genocidal, apartheid tactics to drive Palestinians from their land, steal it and then expand illegal settlement building, which is now taking place at an unprecedented rate.
Since October 7, 2023, colonial settler violence has become systemic in the West Bank. Attacks on Palestinians have reached an all time high. Settlers are protected by the occupation’s army, are funded by the Israeli regime and act with complete impunity. All settlements and settlers are illegal under international law.
In one week alone, between 7-13 October 2025, there were 71 attacks against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. The result was one dead Palestinian, 99 injured, property damaged, and displacement of a Palestinian family. Half of that week’s settler attacks were linked to olive harvesting. 27 Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank were affected.
