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Photo:
Scene in Turmus Ayya. Published by IMEMC News
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by IMEMC News
Oct 21, 2025

On Tuesday morning, illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers attacked Palestinian olive harvesters in the town of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank’s central part.

The assault took place in the Wadi Ammar area, where colonizers invaded the Palestinian orchards, forced farmers to leave their land and hurled stones at their vehicles, causing damage.

This latest attack comes just two days after colonizers assaulted Palestinian civilians and an international solidarity activist in the same town, inflicting various injuries—including to an elderly woman who was struck in the head when colonizers attacked her and her family while they were harvesting olives on their land in Turmus Ayya.

The repeated violence coincides with the annual olive harvest season, a time when Palestinian farmers are routinely targeted by colonizers and Israeli forces seeking to disrupt agricultural life and displace communities.

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli colonizers set fire to three tents early Tuesday morning in Wadi al-Jawaya, located in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank’s southern part.

On Sunday, The Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission revealed Sunday that Israeli occupation authorities have illegally confiscated 70.147 dunams of Palestinian lands near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank’s northern part, under a military order citing what the army dubbed as “security and military purposes.”

Since October 7, 2023, colonizers have carried out 7,154 documented attacks against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank, resulting in the killing of 33 civilians.

The Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission reported that these attacks—often carried out with Israeli military backing—have led to the uprooting, burning, and destruction of 48,728 trees, including 37,237 olive trees.

The olive harvest, a cornerstone of Palestinian livelihood and cultural heritage, has become a battleground where colonizers seek to erase Palestinian presence through violence and intimidation.

Despite international condemnation, colonizer attacks continue with impunity, deepening the suffering of Palestinian farmers and threatening the survival of entire communities under occupation.

All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.

Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.

Articles 53 and 147, prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.

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