ISRAELI OCCUPIED WEST BANK, 19 Oct. - (ANA) - Israeli forces attacked Palestinian journalists covering an olive harvest near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank on Saturday.

 

In videos shared online, several Israeli soldiers can be seen firing tear gas and stun grenades at journalists and their camera crew in the Palestinian village of Kobar, despite wearing press vests and protective gear.

 

In other clips shown on social media and local media, the same group of soldiers can be seen shouting and intimidating journalists, forcing them to move away from the location where they were filming a report.

 

The Israeli army’s actions on Saturday were the latest demonstration of violence against Palestinian journalists in the occupied West Bank and the wider Palestinian territories.

 

Soldiers also fired tear gas at farmers in Kobar as the olive harvest season began. Harvesting olives is a vital component of Palestinian economic activity and a symbol of Palestinian identity and resistance.

 

Israel’s attacks on the farmers occurred as they were attempting to access their farmland in the village’s western area, eventually forcing them to retreat due to the dangerous nature of the situation, according to Palestinian media.

 

Earlier on Saturday, residents of Kobar had announced that they would head to their agricultural lands located near an illegal settlement outpost to carry out their harvest, despite the anticipation of Israeli attacks.

 

In another shocking video clip, Palestinian journalists caught on camera an Israeli soldier being trained to fire tear gas in preparation for the attacks they were eventually subject to.

 

Several incidents have been reported over the past few weeks. Settlers in particular have been wreaking havoc on Palestinian agricultural land, uprooting olive saplings, grazing their own livestock on Palestinian land, and deliberately destroying olive vines.

 

In a similar incident, also on Saturday, armed settlers attacked olive pickers in Turmus Ayya, also near Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Wafa agency.

 

Attacks on farmers and their farmland during harvest season have been a regular occurrence in the West Bank over the decades, in a bid to forcibly lessen Palestinian production of the stone fruit, destroy their property and force them away from their land.

 

The Palestinian Authority’s Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission described this year’s harvest as the "most dangerous in decades", given the number of attacks farmers have faced.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/19 October 2025 - - -