Violence against Palestinian farmers has escalated across the occupied West Bank. On Friday, Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers in several villages and towns across the Nablus governorate, setting a vehicle on fire in the village of Tell, southwest of Nablus. Adding to the farmers’ hardships, Israeli occupation forces reportedly prevented Palestinian landowners from reaching their fields and harvesting their olives. The attacks have raised further concerns over the safety of Palestinian farmers and their access to their agricultural land during the crucial olive harvest season.

Local and security sources reported that settlers targeted Palestinian olive pickers in the villages of Tell, Jamma’in, Qusra, Beita and Osarin, south of Nablus; Sebastia and Beit Imrin, northwest of the city; and Beit Furik and Beit Dajan, east of Nablus.

The sources said the settlers also set fire to a vehicle belonging to Palestinian resident Hamza Ahmad Asaad Yamin from the village of Tell, completely burning it.

In Qusra, Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades, sparking fires on agricultural land while preventing Palestinian landowners from harvesting their olives.

The attacks come amid escalating Jewish settler violence against Palestinian farmers as the annual olive harvest season begins. The harvest provides an essential source of income for thousands of Palestinian families, many of whom depend on their olive groves for their livelihoods.

The latest attacks have heightened concerns over further attacks targeting Palestinian farmers, their agricultural lands and their property across the occupied West Bank.