STORY: Palestinian farmers were forced to flee as Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades during the olive harvest in the village of Deir Abu Mash’al in the occupied West Bank on Saturday (October 10), while masked militant settlers were seen hurling stones towards farmers.

Palestinians said Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters at olive harvesters in an attempt to force them off their land, leaving several people injured. A journalist was also injured by a rubber-coated metal bullet while covering the events.

Reuters contacted the Israeli military for comment to which they issued a written statement saying, Earlier today "A violent confrontation broke out between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli civilians, which involved stone hurling. An Israeli civilian was injured the confrontation.

IDF soldiers were dispatched to the area and acted to disperse confrontation."

Palestinians say the current olive harvest season has seen a rise in attacks by militant settlers.

According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, settler attacks have affected more than 147,000 trees in the occupied West Bank since October 2023 through destruction, uprooting, burning or poisoning. More than 100,000 of those trees were olive trees.

Many Palestinian families rely on the annual olive harvest as a source of income. Olives and olive oil are central to the rural economy and hold deep cultural significance, symbolising Palestinians’ connection to their land and a farming tradition passed down through generations.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: DEIR ABU MASH’AL, WEST BANK (OCTOBER 10, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. ISRAELI FORCES FIRING TEAR GAS AND STUN GRENADES TOWARDS PALESTINIANS HARVESTING OLIVES / MAN RUNNING / SMOKE BILLOWING / AUDIO OF STUN GRENADES

2. SMOKE BILLOWING AFTER ISRAELI FORCES FIRE TEAR GAS AND STUN GRENADES TOWARDS PALESTINIANS / PEOPLE RUNNING

3. ISRAELI SOLDIER SHOUTING AT JOURNALISTS AND CLOSING VEHICLE DOOR / PEOPLE RUNNING FROM TEAR GAS AND STUN GRENADES

4. PALESTINIAN FARMERS WHO WERE PICKING OLIVES FLEEING THE AREA / SMOKE BILLOWING

5. MASKED MILITANT SETTLERS SEEN AMONG OLIVE TREES

6. VARIOUS OF MASKED MILITANT SETTLERS HURLING STONES TOWARDS PALESTINIAN FARMERS

7. MASKED MILITANT SETTLER

8. VARIOUS OF PALESTINIANS HARVESTING OLIVES

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN VILLAGE RESIDENT, DR. AHMED HAMDAN, SAYING:

“Today we had the chance to pick the olives. The settlers, the criminals, the hilltop youth, were harvesting our olives last year, so we decided to come today to pick our olives. We are stealing our olives, but thank God we are here at the valley, and we hope we can continue till the mountain.”

10. HAMDAN PICKING OLIVES

11. PALESTINIANS PICKING OLIVES / AUDIO OF STUN GRENADES

12. PALESTINIANS RUNNING AFTER ISRAELI FORCES ARRIVE IN THE AREA AND PREVENT THEM FROM CONTINUING THE OLIVE HARVEST

13. PARAMEDIC TREATING INJURED PALESTINIAN

14. INJURED PALESTINIAN MAN WITH OINTMENT ON HIS FACE AFTER BEING SPRAYED WITH PEPPER SPRAY BY SETTLERS

15. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HEAD OF THE MELKITE GREEK CATHOLIC MONASTERY IN RAMALLAH, FATHER ABDULLAH JULIO, SAYING:

“Our people are oppressed, they are deprived of harvesting our olives. Our people are oppressed everywhere.”

16. VARIOUS OF SMOKE BILLOWING / ISRAELI SOLDIERS WALKING / PALESTINIANS LEAVING THE AREA AFTER ISRAELI FORCES PREVENT THEM FROM CONTINUING THE OLIVE HARVEST

17. VARIOUS OF WOMEN GATHERED NEARBY

18. MEN LOOKING DOWN AFTER BEING PREVENTED FROM HARVESTING OLIVES

19. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DEIR ABU MASH’AL RESIDENT, SAYING:

“We came here today to help our people on the lands of our grandparents to harvest olives, but unfortunately the settlers were there and prevented us from arriving at the valley area, the borderline between us and them (settlers). They fired towards us, and the army attacked us and pushed us off the land.”

20. ISRAELI MILITARY VEHICLE ARRIVING AT THE AREA WHERE PALESTINIANS WERE HARVESTING OLIVES

21. ISRAELI SOLDIERS SEEN IN THE AREA

22. VARIOUS OF SETTLERS GATHERED ON TOP OF A HILL