BETHLEHEM, October 26, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli colonists cut down dozens of olive trees on Sunday morning in the village of Al-Maniya, south of Bethlehem, according to local sources.

Zayed Kawazbeh, head of the Al-Maniya village council, told WAFA that colonists from the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Amos, built on Palestinian-owned lands, cut down olive trees planted across an area of about two dunums in a location known as Al-Qurm, belonging to a local Palestinian farmer.

Kawazbeh added that colonists had attacked farmers in the same area yesterday, brutally assaulting a man and breaking his arm before Israeli occupation forces arrived and detained him instead of the assailants.

According to the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, its field teams have documented 158 attacks against olive harvesters since the beginning of the current season, including 17 carried out by Israeli forces and 141 by colonists.

During the annual olive harvest season, Palestinian lands are frequently subjected to repeated attacks by colonists and Israeli soldiers. Farmers face ongoing violence and restrictions that prevent them from reaching their groves, causing heavy financial losses and worsening their daily suffering under occupation.

Since October 2023, colonists have carried out 7,154 attacks against Palestinians and their property across the West Bank, resulting in the killing of 33 citizens. These assaults have led to the uprooting, breaking, or damaging of 48,728 trees, including 37,237 olive trees, according to the commission.

M.N