As wave of Jewish settler attacks continues, at least 15 people hurt during clashes with Palestinians over weekend

The ongoing wave of attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians and Bedouins across Judea and Samaria continued over the weekend, with attacks happening near Nablus, Hebron, Jenin and Jerusalem.

Attacks were carried out primarily by young extremist religious settlers, often called the “Hilltop Youth” by Israelis.

The Palestinians and Bedouins targeted in such incidents complain that often times, the settlers are accompanied by IDF soldiers who do not interfere with the settlers' harassment. While Israel Police and Border Police frequently release statements saying that the incidents are being investigated, prosecutions from the arrests are rare. 

Within Israel, condemnation for Jewish settler violence usually comes following the rare incidents when Israeli security forces are harmed by the settlers.

On Saturday, a group of settler youth attacked Palestinians who had gone to conduct the annual olive harvest in lands near the village of Beita, close to Nablus.

This area has been the scene of previous incidents between settlers and Palestinian farmers. 

About 30 villagers had gone to take part in the olive harvest, accompanied by around 10 journalists from local and international agencies. Reuters said that two of its employees were injured in the assault, in which settler youth threw stones and attacked people with sticks. 

Israeli settlers attacked around 30 villagers and activists, as well as 10 journalists during an olive harvest attempt near Beita in the West Bank. Witnesses reported that the dozens of masked people hurled stones at Palestinian villagers, beat them with sticks. Two Reuters staff… pic.twitter.com/ZkXvDEKCZg

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) November 9, 2025

While the IDF dispatched soldiers to the area, local Palestinian reports said the soldiers did not arrive until after the attacks were largely finished. 

The IDF responded to media inquiries with a statement saying, “IDF troops arrived at the scene and worked to disperse the confrontation, during which several Palestinians were injured and evacuated to receive medical treatment.” 

In the nearby town of Burin, one Palestinian and four international activists were injured when settlers attacked a group of Palestinians going to harvest olives in lands near their village. 

هجوم مستوطنين على قرية بورين جنوبي نابلس ما خلف 4 إصابات#نابلس #الحدث pic.twitter.com/VUr6Y1ocVQ

— ا لـحـدث (@AlHadath) November 8, 2025

Despite the fact that the olive groves are adjacent to the village of Burin, the IDF said that the harvest requires prior coordination with the military.

The military also appeared to minimize the clashes, saying, “Upon the forces’ arrival at the area of confrontation, where Palestinians and Israeli civilians were harvesting olives, several Israeli civilians threw stones at the harvesters.” 

However, according to a report in the Palestinian Authority’s Wafa News agency, the residents of Burin claimed that the military has prevented them from harvesting the olives, while settlers often come and take the olives, accompanied by IDF troops. 

Last week, in the contested area of Masafer Yatta, which has been a closed military zone since the 1970s, settler youth destroyed dozens of olive trees outside Tal Ma'in. Israeli authorities came to the area following reports of violence, arresting three Palestinians who tried to drive the settler youth away by throwing rocks at them. 

While many of the Palestinian settlements in Masafer Yatta have been ruled illegal by the Israeli justice system, being built without permission, several Jewish settlers living in the same closed military zone have not faced legal action from the authorities. 

Settlers are going from house to house, stealing whatever they like from Palestinian homes. pic.twitter.com/h9BGqtQl2G

— The Resonance (@Partisan_12) November 8, 2025

The area of Masafer Yatta has been contested by Israeli and Arab groups since the 1960s. 

On Sunday morning, a group of settler youth attacked the Bedouin camp of Ma’azi Jaba’a, throwing rocks at the flocks of the Bedouins and at the encampment. According to local Palestinian news reports, at least seven people were injured in the incident. 

مستـ"وطنون يحرقون الخيام وممتلكات الفلسطينيين في تجمع معازي جبع شمال شرق القدس المحتلة، صباح اليوم. pic.twitter.com/v4gSHVkUbv

— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) November 9, 2025

Additionally, attacks were also reported in the villages of Raba and Silat al-Harithiya, near Jenin. Palestinian residents of Raba reported that the settler youth were accompanied by IDF soldiers, who did not prevent the youth from attacking homes and destroying agricultural property. 

On Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that settler attacks in 2025 are the highest since the agency began monitoring in 2006. 

“Since 2006, OCHA has documented over 9,600 such attacks. About 1,500 of them took place just this year, roughly 15 per cent of the total,” OCHA said in a statement. 

The high number of incidents amounts to an average of eight attacks per calendar day in 2025. Israeli authorities acknowledged last year that settler violence had increased following the start of the Oct. 7 War. 

Read more: SETTLER VIOLENCE | ISRAELI PALESTINIAN CONFLICT | JEWISH SETTLERS | JUDEA AND SAMARIA