Overnight raids, sweeping arrests, and violent attacks on farmers marked another turbulent week in the occupied West Bank, as Israeli forces and settlers intensified their campaign against Palestinian communities amid a fragile cease-fire in Gaza. The United Nations and humanitarian groups are raising alarms about a sharp escalation in violence, forced displacement, and targeted assaults on the olive harvest—a season deeply woven into Palestinian identity and livelihood.
According to Al-Mayadeen and corroborated by multiple agencies, Israeli occupation forces launched a series of overnight raids across the West Bank on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, detaining at least 16 Palestinians, including a child, in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron). The raids extended to Ya'bad, south of Jenin, where troops re-arrested a former detainee who had only been released the previous night. In al-Bireh, soldiers surrounded a home in the Umm al-Sharayet neighborhood and detained a young man. Eyewitnesses reported that several detainees were beaten and their homes ransacked during the arrests.
The crackdown didn’t stop at arrests. Israeli forces erected new checkpoints at the entrances of al-Khalil and nearby towns and refugee camps, sealing off key roads with iron gates, concrete barriers, and earth mounds. These measures, local residents say, are choking movement and daily life, further isolating communities already under immense strain.
Meanwhile, the violence extended beyond military operations. On Tuesday, October 21, groups of Israeli settlers attacked the outskirts of Burqa, east of Ramallah, attempting to storm the area before retreating. While no injuries or property damage were reported in that incident, the pattern of settler aggression has become a daily reality for many Palestinians.
Elsewhere, in the town of Abu Dis just east of occupied Jerusalem, Israeli forces raided the area late Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades indiscriminately into the streets. Residents described scenes of chaos and fear, with many forced to change their routes to avoid the violence. This latest assault comes amid a surge in both settler and military attacks across the West Bank—a trend the United Nations says is reaching alarming new heights.
According to the U.N.'s Palestinian refugees agency (UNRWA), Israeli destruction and forced displacement in the West Bank are ongoing and worsening. Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA Affairs for the occupied West Bank, warned that recent easing in Gaza following the October 10 cease-fire "should not become an opportunity to tighten the grip of occupation elsewhere." He stressed, "The future of Gaza and West Bank are one. A drawdown in Gaza should not become an opportunity to tighten the grip of occupation elsewhere."
Friedrich and other humanitarian officials point to a significant escalation of settler violence and settlement expansion, which is pushing vulnerable Palestinian communities from their lands under increasingly coercive conditions. Since October 2023, Palestinian figures report that illegal Israeli settlers have carried out 7,154 attacks against Palestinians and their property across the West Bank, resulting in 33 deaths and the displacement of 33 Bedouin communities. Northern refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams have been emptied, with residents strictly prevented from returning.
The toll of the broader conflict is staggering. Since October 2023, the Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed over 68,200 people and injured more than 170,300, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The West Bank has also witnessed a sharp rise in violence, with at least 1,056 Palestinians killed, around 10,300 injured, and more than 20,000 detained, including 1,600 children, according to official Palestinian figures.
One particularly harrowing episode occurred last Sunday in Turmus Ayya, a town with a predominantly Palestinian American population. Israeli settlers descended on Palestinian olive harvesters and activists, beating them with clubs in an attack that sent at least one woman to the hospital with serious injuries, as reported by the Associated Press. Videos obtained by the AP showed masked men—one wearing the traditional Jewish tzitzit—attacking people in olive groves and torching cars. In one clip, a woman lay motionless on the ground as she was struck repeatedly. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed her hospitalization for serious injuries.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the head of the West Bank police force, disturbed by the footage, told his officers, "The footage of the masked settler beating the woman kept him up at night" and ordered them to bring the perpetrator to justice. However, Israel’s military and police did not respond to requests for comment from the AP on the attack.
Turmus Ayya has long been a flashpoint for settler violence, but residents say the situation has worsened during the Israel-Hamas war. The killing of 14-year-old Palestinian-American Amer Rabee by Israeli forces in April during protests against settler violence has only fueled further clashes and a sense of insecurity among villagers.
Across the West Bank, settler violence is surging. The U.N. reports that the first half of 2025 has seen 757 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage—a 13% increase compared with the same period last year. The olive harvest, a season of profound cultural and economic importance for Palestinians, has become a particular target. The first week of the 2025 harvest saw more than 150 attacks by settlers, with over 700 olive trees uprooted, broken, or poisoned, according to Muayyad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority in the Palestinian Authority. Shaaban emphasized that the olive harvest is being "systematically and intentionally targeted by the occupation because of its national symbolism, the historical connection between Palestinians and their land, and its significant economic, social, and cultural importance."
Shaaban also detailed that, since the start of October, occupation forces and settlers have carried out 158 attacks on olive harvesters across West Bank governorates. Of these, 17 were by the Israeli army and 141 by settlers, involving physical violence, detentions, and preventing farmers from accessing or moving freely on their land—especially in areas like the Tubas Governorate. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz documented 41 separate attacks by settlers on Palestinian olive harvesters in October 2025 alone.
The broader context of these attacks is rooted in the ongoing contest over land and identity. Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians seek these territories for a future independent state. Today, settler advocates hold key Israeli Cabinet positions, granting them and the settlers significant influence over West Bank policy.
As the violence continues, international organizations like the U.N. and UNRWA reaffirm their commitment to working with all parties "to ensure a comprehensive outcome that can form the cornerstone of peace and stability for the entirety of the occupied Palestinian territory." Yet, for many Palestinians on the ground, the reality is one of mounting hardship, shrinking horizons, and a harvest season marked not by celebration, but by fear.
With the olive trees under threat and communities facing daily violence and displacement, the struggle for land and dignity in the West Bank shows no sign of abating. For now, the cries for accountability and protection echo across the hills, as families cling to their roots—both literal and symbolic—in the face of relentless adversity.
