A 55-year-old Palestinian woman has been seriously injured after being struck over the head by a masked Israeli settler while harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank.
The assault took place on the morning of Sunday 19 October in the village of Turmus Ayya, north of Ramallah, and was captured on video by American journalist Jasper Nathaniel.
Footage shows the settler approaching the woman — identified as Umm Saleh Abu Alia — before striking her over the head with a large wooden stick, knocking her unconscious. He then hit her again as she lay motionless on the ground.
“She went completely limp after the first blow,” Nathaniel told the BBC. “Then he stood over her and hit her twice more. It’s the most vivid image seared into my mind.”
The mother of five was rushed to hospital and initially admitted to intensive care, where doctors say she is now in a stable condition.
Nathaniel said occupying Israeli soldiers were present before the attack and had “lured” him and others into what he described as an “ambush.” He claimed that the soldiers “sped off” moments before settlers launched their assault.
Local sources said around 15 masked settlers stormed the area, attacking Palestinians and international activists who had come to help with the olive harvest. One car was torched and several others had their windows smashed.
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Escalation in settler violence
The attack is part of a surge in settler violence during the annual olive harvest, which began on October 9. The harvest is a centuries-old Palestinian tradition and a vital source of income for many rural families.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 71 settler attacks were recorded across the occupied West Bank between October 7-13 — half of them linked to the olive harvest, which affects residents in 27 villages.
In 2025 alone, over 3,200 Palestinians have been injured in Israeli settler violence, OCHA says.
Rights groups say the purpose of these assaults is to terrorise Palestinian farmers and drive them from their land so that settlers can seize it. Israeli NGO Yesh Din found that only 3% of investigations into settler attacks between 2005 and 2023 resulted in convictions.
Turmus Ayya has long been a target of settler attacks, where around 80% of its residents hold US citizenship or residency, according to Israeli media. The US State Department and embassy in Jerusalem have not yet commented on the incident.
The escalation comes amid growing impunity for Israeli settlers across the occupied territories. Shortly after taking office, US President Donald Trump lifted sanctions previously imposed on violent settlers by his predecessor Joe Biden.
