Israeli settlers torch factories and farmland in massive West Bank arson raid

Israeli settlers carried out a large-scale arson attack on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the latest in a series of army-backed assaults that have surged since October.

Dozens of masked settlers targeted an industrial area east of Tulkarm, near Beit Lid, in the attack, setting fire to a dairy factory, surrounding farmland, several buildings and multiple trucks.

Settlers also hurled rocks at Palestinians on the scene, wounding at least four people.

The fire spread to a nearby nomadic Palestinian community, engulfing their tents.

According to local media, Israeli forces accompanied and protected the settlers.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces pursued Palestinians who tried to resist the attack.

Israeli media said the army arrested four settlers involved in the assault, while others vandalised an army vehicle.

The arrests are rare amid near-daily escalating settler attacks across the West Bank. Most settlers arrested for assaults against Palestinians are never prosecuted.

Israeli settlers attacked industrial and agricultural sites near Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, leaving at least four Palestinians injured pic.twitter.com/baxC4IIXdy

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) November 12, 2025

Elsewhere, settlers fenced off more Palestinian land in the northern Jordan Valley, a move seen as an attempt to prevent farmers from working and to undermine their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, in occupied East Jerusalem, settlers continued near-daily incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, with over 200 entering its courtyards under the protection of Israeli police, the Islamic Waqf Department said.

The settlers performed Talmudic prayers and rituals inside the mosque, while Israeli forces stationed outside the gates barred Muslim worshippers from entering.

Weekend of assaults 

Tuesday’s attack followed another violent weekend of settler rampages across the West Bank.

On Sunday, settlers attacked a Palestinian community in al-Ara’ara, north of Jerusalem, leaving at least seven people wounded, torching livestock sheds and damaging property.

In Mount Sabih, south of Nablus, around 30 masked settlers armed with clubs attacked farmers on Saturday. Foreign activists, paramedics and journalists accompanying the farmers during the olive harvest were also beaten.

Among those injured were Reuters photographer Raneen Sawafta, Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed al-Atrash, and photographer Louay Saeed. Footage from the attack shows masked settlers terrorising landowners and striking victims with clubs.

The Palestinians had been collecting olives when settlers stormed the area, attempting to drive them off their own farmland. Similar invasions were reported in other cities, including Hebron, Ramallah and Jenin.

A video taken near Beita town in the occupied West Bank captures masked illegal Israeli settlers brutally attacking Reuters photographer Raneen Sawafta and assaulting journalists, activists and land owners during the olive harvest.

The group was peacefully collecting olives when… pic.twitter.com/5Jps2T7YA4

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) November 9, 2025

In addition to attacks on civilians, settlers disrupted farming by stealing crops, vandalising property and infrastructure, and blocking access to land.

In Aqraba, south of Nablus, settlers stole olives on Saturday while the Israeli army barred Palestinian farmers from entering their own land.

Footage from the site shows bags of fodder slashed open, damaged trees and Palestinians being harassed. 

Settler violence surge 

Settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank have been ongoing for years, often carried out with complete impunity.

Since October 2023, assaults have been on the rise, sharply escalating by October 2025, coinciding with the olive harvest season - a crucial source of income for thousands of Palestinian families.

According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, at least 2,350 attacks were recorded across the West Bank in October alone, 1,584 of which were carried out directly by the Israeli army.

The majority of the assaults occurred in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron, and included physical attacks, the uprooting of olive trees, the burning of fields and the prevention of farmers from accessing their land.

Why are Israeli settlers destroying the Palestinian olive harvest?

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Other assaults on agriculture include filling in wells to cut water supplies, slaughtering livestock and vandalising or demolishing rural homes. 

These attacks on olive trees by settlers and the Israeli military are part of a wider campaign against Palestinian life in the occupied West Bank. The aim is to deprive Palestinians of income and drive communities from their land through intimidation.

UN bodies and international human rights organisations have warned of the growing threat to Palestinian olive farmers. 

Ajith Sunghay, the head of the UN Human Rights Office in Palestine, has warned of the dangers faced by farmers in the West Bank during this year’s olive season. 

Sunghay said on 21 October: “Two weeks into the start of the 2025 harvest, we have already seen severe attacks by armed settlers against Palestinian men, women, children, and foreign solidarity activists.

“Settler violence has skyrocketed in scale and frequency, with the acquiescence, support, and in many cases participation, of Israeli security forces – and always with impunity.”

Sunghay also stressed the cultural importance of olive cultivation for Palestinians, which represents livelihood, lineage, resilience and economy.

“The escalating assault on the olive harvest season is one of many, many Israeli aggressions designed to sever connection, to annex the land, to dispossess Palestinians, and facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements,” he added.