15 hurt in W. Bank settler attacks, including Palestinian farmer recently interviewed by ToI
Palestinian medic, school principal and IDF reservist aiding farmers also said hurt; incidents come amid major wave of violence against olive harvesters
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Fifteen people were injured in several settler attacks in the West Bank on Saturday, according to Palestinian and Hebrew media reports. Those hurt included Palestinians, Israeli and foreign activists, an IDF reservist, a medic and a Reuters press photographer.
The attacks, which took place in the Palestinian villages of Burin and Beita near Nablus, come amid a heightened wave of Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian olive pickers as well as activists who are aiding the farmers during the harvest.
In Beita, footage posted to social media showed masked men beating Palestinians with clubs.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, among the injured was Oded Yedaya, an Israeli art school principal, who was said to have suffered a broken cheekbone and jaw.
“His shirt was soaked in blood and his head was split open,” an activist who was at the scene told the Haaretz daily.
Also among the injured was Reuters photographer Raneen Sawafteh, reports added.
Another activist told Haaretz that a 19-year-old Palestinian Red Crescent volunteer was hit in the head by a club-wielding attacker.
Watch: Masked Israelis attack Reuters’ photographer Raneen Sawafta in the West Bank town of Beita. 10 journalists, activists and land owners were injured during the attack on an olive harvest today. Video credit: David Reeb pic.twitter.com/xT0fY4VhHT
— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv_) November 8, 2025
In nearby Burin, footage showed settlers throwing stones at Palestinians and activists in an olive grove.
According to the WAFA news agency, one Palestinian man and four foreign activists were injured in the attack.
The Palestinian man was later identified as Bashar Eid, a resident of Burin, who recently spoke with The Times of Israel about his repeated failed efforts to reach his olive groves.
After being injured in Saturday’s attack, Eid told The Times of Israel that settlers threw stones at him and the activists, resulting in an injury to his neck. He was evacuated to a Palestinian hospital, where he is expected to undergo surgery.
About two weeks ago, the area near his home was declared a closed military zone, with Israeli activists who came to assist him detained, and two American volunteers deported from the country as a result.
Haaretz reported that an off-duty IDF reservist was at the scene aiding the harvest, and was also injured in the attack.
The reservist told the outlet that he was pelted with stones, and that after he informed the settlers that he was an Israeli reservist soldier, they kept attacking him and told him that it was “the last time you betray your brothers.”
The reservist was later taken to Tel Hashomer hospital in central Israel for treatment.
هجوم مستوطنين على قرية بورين جنوبي نابلس ما خلف 4 إصابات#نابلس #الحدث pic.twitter.com/VUr6Y1ocVQ
— ا لـحـدث (@AlHadath) November 8, 2025
In response to a query on the incident at Beita, the IDF said that troops were dispatched to the area following reports of a clash between Israelis and Palestinians “during an uncoordinated olive harvest in an area that requires coordination.”
“IDF troops arrived at the scene and worked to disperse the confrontation, during which several Palestinians were injured and evacuated to receive medical treatment,” the military said.
Regarding the incident in Burin, the IDF said that troops arrived in the area “following a report of stones being thrown at an Israeli vehicle.”
“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,” the army said.
The military said several Israelis and Palestinians were injured in the clash and taken for medical treatment, and that the troops acted to disperse the gathering.
The IDF said that both cases were now being handled by the police.
“The IDF condemns such incidents and will continue to act to maintain security and order in the area,” the military added.
The Palestinian olive-picking season, which began in early October, has seen a string of attacks by settlers and soldiers on olive pickers, who sometimes include volunteers from Israel and abroad, Jewish and otherwise.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday that it recorded 264 settler attacks that caused casualties, property damage, or both during October.
The attacks come amid soaring levels of settler violence since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
The Times of Israel Community.