In brief
During an ongoing olive harvest in the West Bank, a dozen Israeli settlers clad in black descended on a field where Palestinians and activists were collecting olives. The fighters set fire to more than a dozen olive trees and hurled stones with slingshots, according to BBC footage. A Washington Post photographer, Heidi Levine, was seized and injured in the chaos. UN reports state that settler violence this season has already surpassed last year’s harvest attacks, signalling an alarming spike. The episode underscores the escalating conflict and the plight of local communities.
During an ongoing olive harvest in the West Bank, a dozen Israeli settlers dressed in black descended on a field where Palestinian collectors and activists were gathering olives.
The attackers set fire to more than a dozen olive trees and hurled stones with slingshots, a move captured in BBC footage and described as “violent” by Middle East correspondent Lucy Williamson.
A Washington Post photographer, Heidi Levine, was seized, kicked on the ground and taken to a hospital. She later told reporters that she had been “jumped” and physically struck during the confrontation.
According to the UN, the past two weeks have already seen more settler attacks on Palestinians than the entire harvest season of the previous year, marking an all‑time high in violence.
The incident highlights the broader crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories, where clashes over land, resources and national identity continue to flare up daily.
