Israel has deported 32 foreign activists who were supporting Palestinian olive farmers in the occupied West Bank, following a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers during this year’s olive harvest. The activists were detained near Burin in the Nablus Governorate after protesting an Israeli order restricting access to farmland during the harvest season.
According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, there have been 158 attacks on olive pickers since the start of the season, including beatings, shootings and the destruction of at least 765 olive trees. The UN says violence by settlers has sharply increased in frequency and severity.
UN official Ajith Sunghay warned that Palestinian families — an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 of whom depend on the olive harvest — face growing risks from armed settlers. Rights groups say the violence has continued despite international condemnation and rising regional tensions linked to the Gaza conflict.
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Israel’s Interior Minister Yariv Levin and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the deported activists were linked to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and face a 99-year entry ban. The UN reports that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, amid an escalation in settler attacks and Israeli military operations.
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