Why settler attacks have spiked during the West Bank olive harvest
The European Union has denounced a wave of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, journalists and foreign diplomats in the occupied West Bank, calling for accountability and stronger protection during the olive‑harvest season. In a statement on Sunday, the EU said it expects “full accountability as well as effective measures to prevent continued acts of violence and violent harassment against Palestinians, including during the ongoing olive harvest season, as also against journalists.” The bloc added that Israel must “fully abide by International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, and to cease the expansion of settlements.”
According to the EU, attacks by settlers this year have already exceeded the total recorded in 2025. Critics argue that verbal condemnations from European governments, without concrete steps to hold Israel responsible, will not stop the assaults, which they say enjoy impunity from Israeli authorities.
Recent incidents illustrate the growing tension. On Friday, settlers clashed with Palestinian olive pickers and a veteran photojournalist. The following day, masked settlers surrounded vehicles belonging to French, Belgian and Polish diplomats near the Christian village of Taybeh. Witnesses reported at least seven attackers demanding identification, breaking a Belgian consular car window and assaulting French mayor Bernard Baudoux. The 78‑year‑old mayor told Reuters he was “a bit shaken” and said his French mayoral sash did not protect him from the “violent attack.” He was thrown to the ground before his entourage fled the scene. Despite the intimidation, Baudoux said he intends to return to the olive groves, emphasizing their importance to Palestinians.
Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prevot confirmed that the Belgian consul general, along with French and Polish officials and Catholic representatives, were among those targeted. French foreign minister Jean‑Noël Barrot urged the Israeli government to arrest the perpetrators and to “urgently put an end to this criminal violence and ensure the safety of the civilian population.” An Israeli police investigation has been opened.
In the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration is “very disturbed” by images of the attack on American freelance photojournalist Heidi Levine, 64, who works for The Washington Post. Speaking at Joint Base Andrews, Rubio said he had not yet received a formal briefing but that the footage “didn’t look good.” He called on Israel to “crack down” on the violence and warned that President Donald Trump does not want “friction” or a “crisis” in the West Bank.
Palestinian analyst and playwright Ahmed Najar told Al Jazeera that condemnation without consequences is not accountability. He said, “Western governments continue to arm, fund and diplomatically protect Israel while treating settler attacks as isolated acts by a few extremists. But this violence flourishes within a wider system of occupation, settlement expansion and impunity.” He added, “The West cannot claim to oppose settler violence while continuing to support the state and policies that enable it.”
Former EU representative to the occupied territories Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff echoed the criticism, describing the EU’s protests as “pathetic” because they lack punitive follow‑up. He noted that at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 12 October, ministers failed to decide on sanctions against the violent settlers or the “annexationist apartheid government of Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
The surge in settler‑led pogroms during the olive harvest has disrupted Palestinian agriculture across the occupied West Bank, prompting calls from diplomats, journalists and human‑rights observers for decisive action to protect civilians and uphold international law.