Women Journalists Without Chains strongly condemns the escalating violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, their homes, property and livelihoods across the occupied West Bank, and calls for accountability for perpetrators and anyone who enables, protects or unlawfully fails to prevent such attacks. The organization warns that the sustained violence and intimidation are contributing to a broader pattern of forced displacement and undermining Palestinians’ ability to remain on their land.
 
On September 26, Israeli occupation forces arrested four farmers from Kafr al-Labad, east of Tulkarm, while they were harvesting olives on land near the Einav settlement, according to local sources and the Palestinian news agency WAFA. The detainees are Na’im Nasser al-Aswad, Mahmoud Ahmed al-Aswad, Ahmed Mahmoud al-Aswad and Jawad Mu’ayyad al-Aswad. Women Journalists Without Chains calls for their whereabouts and the grounds for their detention to be disclosed immediately, full access to legal counsel, judicial review of their detention, and the release of anyone held without a lawful basis.
 
The scale of the violence is reflected in UN data. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documented more than 1,600 settler attacks between January and August 2026, causing injuries, property damage, or both across 275 Palestinian communities. More than 2,600 Palestinians were displaced during the same period in the context of settler violence and access restrictions.
 
The pattern extends over several years. Between January 2023 and August 31, 2026, 130 Palestinian communities experienced full or partial displacement in this context; 48 communities were completely emptied, with more than 6,400 Palestinians displaced, including over 3,100 children. Women Journalists Without Chains stresses that displacement driven by violence, threats and restrictions on access to land and livelihoods cannot be treated as voluntary departure.
 
The organization also warns of intensified attacks during the olive harvest, a critical source of income for Palestinian families. OCHA documented 185 settler attacks affecting 70 communities during the 2025 olive-harvesting season, damaging more than 6,000 trees and saplings. Attacks on farmers, theft of crops and equipment, and destruction of olive trees directly undermine livelihoods and restrict Palestinians’ ability to access and cultivate their land.
 
Women Journalists Without Chains holds Israel, as the occupying power, responsible for protecting the Palestinian population and their property, preventing settler violence, and investigating and prosecuting those responsible. Under the law of occupation, the occupying power is required to maintain public order and civil life and to protect the occupied population. The organization calls for investigations into all reported attacks, including any participation, facilitation or unlawful failure to intervene by Israeli forces or police, and for accountability wherever responsibility is established.
 
Women Journalists Without Chains calls for an immediate end to settler attacks, safe and unhindered access for Palestinian farmers to their land, an end to arbitrary detention, protection of property and livelihoods, and safe and dignified return for those forcibly displaced. It also urges states to support effective investigations, preserve evidence and ensure accountability for those responsible.
 
Condemning violence while leaving perpetrators and enablers beyond accountability will only perpetuate the cycle of abuse and displacement. Protecting Palestinian civilians requires concrete action: ending the attacks, holding those responsible to account, and safeguarding their right to live safely and with dignity on their land.