Israeli settlers torch cars and trees in West Bank villages, disrupting Palestinians' olive harvest

ABU FALAH, West Bank (AP) — Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank on Friday, setting fire to cars and trees and beating residents and a foreign journalist, in the latest violence to disrupt the territory's annual olive harvest this month.

Local officials and the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported attacks in at least eight villages in the northern West Bank, where most of the olive groves are concentrated and tens of thousands of Palestinian families depend on them for income.

Settler violence against Palestinians has soared this year and spiked further in the weeks leading up to Israel's election on Oct. 27. The far-right government that has emboldened the settlers could soon be voted out of power — or win another term.

Israeli authorities have done little to stop the attacks, according to residents and rights groups, who say the military has aided, protected or stood by as settlers lay siege to Palestinian villages. The violence has drawn accusations of “ ethnic cleansing ” — including from the British government, which has said Israel is turning a “blind eye” to the campaign underway.

“Soldiers aren’t stopping the violence or protecting Palestinians," said Ziv Stahl, executive director of Israeli rights group Yesh Din. “If anything, they’re sometimes assisting settlers in the attacks.”

The West Bank has been under Israeli military rule since the 1967 Mideast war and today is home to around 3 million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last month that more than 1,600 attacks across the territory had been reported between January and August. Yesh Din and other rights groups say authorities rarely arrest or indict the perpetrators.

Israel’s military on Friday condemned the violence and acknowledged that a journalist was injured in Abu Falah.

On Friday, settlers attacked the village as residents, accompanied by peace activists, set out early for the harvest.

As the group of masked vigilantes approached, several members beat Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, who was hospitalized for her injuries.

The perpetrators — armed with bottles and slingshots — “were kicking me for like 10 minutes and I was trying to hold onto my cameras and my bag,” Levine said.

Levine said her helmet and protective vest, which was marked “PRESS,” likely saved her from more serious injuries.

Both the Washington Post and the Foreign Press Association, which represents international journalists working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, called on Israel to bring the attackers to justice.

“This is the latest in a long line of violent attacks by Israeli settlers against journalists and other civilians in the occupied West Bank. Yet our repeated calls for action to confront this lawlessness have been ignored by Israeli authorities," the Foreign Press Association said.

Israeli troops later arrived in Abu Falah and drove up to the village after dispersing the crowd in the olive groves. Residents said that soldiers later fired live ammunition at village council member Abdel Jaber Hassan, even though he was unarmed and far from the trees. The military said that soldiers had fired because an individual was running toward them with a sharp object.

Nazem Saleh Shoman, another village council member, denied that account and said Hassan was shot at close range while carrying olive harvesting tools.

Across the West Bank, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said that its medics had tended to 14 wounded people in six locations, while local officials reported at least four injuries in two additional villages.

At least four Palestinians have been killed and more than 100 injured since harvest season began earlier this month, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry said last week. Yesh Din said on Friday that it had already documented hundreds of incidents of settler violence directly related to this year's harvest.

In Turmus Ayya, a village northeast of Ramallah, mayor Nawaf Zghoul said settlers early Friday had burned several cars in the hamlet's surrounding olive groves.

“The settlers were lying in wait for farmers working on their land and attacked them,” he said. “Nothing has been left intact."

Israel's military said that suspects had fled the scene before troops arrived.

Roughly 110,000 Palestinian families depend on privately owned groves for income and employ tens of thousands of seasonal farmworkers, according to Abbas Milhem of the Palestinian Farmers’ Union.

In past years, hundreds of thousands of trees have been damaged by settlers and farmers have suffered financial losses that, territorywide, amount to millions of dollars, he said.

This year, Milhem said, is the worst he can remember.

Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli activist who often accompanies Palestinian farmers during the harvest, was in Abu Falah on Friday morning when the settlers attacked. He said they descended from a hilltop outpost, throwing stones, burning trees and firing gunshots at the Palestinians and other activists.

The Israeli military, he said, “stood literally shoulder-to-shoulder with settlers as they attacked Palestinians” and later drove into Abu Falah, where they shot the village council member.

“There was absolutely no motive except one simple thing: to send a message that people cannot go to their land,” Pollak said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly framed settler violence in the West Bank as the work of a few dozen fringe youths and said its scale has been exaggerated.

He condemned the violence in Abu Falah on Friday but questioned whether Palestinians and activists were to blame. Without mentioning accounts of how the attacking settlers descended on the groves, he framed the violence as a clash between outnumbered Israeli youths against Palestinians and activists.

“We will not allow disputed incidents to be exploited to demonize the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria,” his office said in a statement, referring to the West Bank by the biblical name preferred by Israeli settlers.

A Palestinian man carrying a sack of olives runs away from the tear gas thrown by Israeli forces following a settler attack during the harvest in the West Bank village of Abu Falah, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli soldiers stand beside a wounded Palestinian man lying on a road after soldiers shot him following a settler attack on Palestinians harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank village of Abu Falah, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israeli soldiers stand beside a wounded Palestinian man lying on a road after they shot him following a settler attack on Palestinians harvesting olives in the West Bank village of Abu Falah, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Palestinians extinguish a small fire after Israeli forces fired tear gas following a settler attack during the olives harvest in the West Bank village of Abu Falah, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Palestinians and activists collect olives following an attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Abu Falah, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV gave strong indications Friday that he was recovering well from lung cancer surgery and was very much in charge of running the Catholic Church, speaking on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with top aides and celebrating Mass in a makeshift hospital chapel.

The Vatican said that during the call with Putin, “the Holy Father expressed his deep concern about the grave humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and called for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of food and medical assistance, and the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population.”

The statement added that Leo “reaffirmed the Holy See’s commitment to promoting dialogue and peace.”

The statement was significant, showing Leo was well enough to conduct official diplomatic business from the Gemelli hospital, was keeping up with world events and was continuing to promote his message of peace as he recovers from surgery. The Kremlin readout of the call suggested progress had actually been made on the humanitarian front.

The Kremlin said Putin wished Leo good health and a quick recovery. In response to the pope’s concern about the plight of civilians in the frontline town of Oleshky, Putin gave a “detailed explanation regarding the Kyiv regime’s responsibility for the difficult humanitarian situation there,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin voiced support for “the Vatican’s intention to help create conditions for ensuring the safety of the local population and facilitating the delivery of essential supplies,” and an agreement was reached to coordinate efforts in this regard, the statement said.

Also Friday, the Vatican released the first images of Leo since his lung cancer surgery Oct. 13, showing him standing up at the altar in green vestments, as doctors said that tests confirmed his “continued improvement.”

The 71-year-old Leo had the lower lobe of his right lung removed after doctors identified a suspected cancerous nodule. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.

“His post-operative recovery allows him to carry out his normal daily activities completely on his own,” said a medical update signed by Leo’s personal physician Dr. Luigi Carbone and the head of thoracic surgery at Gemelli, Dr. Stefano Margaritora.

Leo presided alone over the liturgy, distributing Communion to medical personnel and Vatican gendarmes present, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. He also delivered a homily in which he thanked the hospital staff “for the work they do every day taking care of the sick in their fragility, and in a particular way what they had done for him,” Bruni said.

Bruni confirmed Leo would deliver the traditional noontime Angelus prayer on Sunday, but it wasn't clear whether he would do it from the hospital or back at the Vatican.

The Vatican had originally estimated a weeklong hospital stay, and had cancelled his audiences through Tuesday. Bruni said the pope’s doctors would decide if there were any changes expected to his discharge date.

But with Leo’s homily Friday thanking hospital personnel who had cared for him, there might be little reason for him to stay if he was medically ready for discharge.

Even as questions swirled about the future of Leo's young pontificate, there were signs Friday that it was all systems go. The Vatican published the names of journalists accredited to fly on Leo’s plane with him during his Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

Leo’s ability to make the trip has been in question since his diagnosis, and the Vatican can change the plans at any time. But the posting of the media list signaled that at least on an organizational level, the trip was going ahead.

Doctors are still awaiting the results of tests to understand the precise molecular and genetic makeup of the cancer, whether it has spread beyond the lobe and whether any further treatment is necessary.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Friday he understood Leo's recovery was going well, “so we're happy.”

Parolin was considered a leading contender in the conclave that elected Leo and was recently passed over as dean of the College of Cardinals. He surprised some by suggesting Thursday that Leo's pontificate itself might need to be “adjusted” as a result of the cancer. It was a bold statement coming from Parolin, given the indications that Leo was recovering well.

On Friday, Parolin seemed to roll that back. Asked what he meant, Parolin said “adjust on the basis of his health conditions,” at least “with respect to this next trip.”

Parolin spoke to reporters outside a conference at the Sacred Heart University, of which the Gemelli hospital is part.

Though Parolin was nearby, there were no signs Parolin visited Leo as might be expected.

The Vatican said two other top cardinals did call on the pope instead Friday: Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the pope's vicar for Rome, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who was recently elected dean of the College of Cardinals, a position that many had thought would go to Parolin, 71. Leo confirmed Tagle in the job two days before announcing his surgery.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Associated Press reporter Vladimir Isachenkov contributed from Moscow.

This picture, released by Vatican Media on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, shows Pope Leo XIV celebrating Mass at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where he is recovering after having cancer removed from his right lung. (Vatican Media via AP)

This picture, released by Vatican Media on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, shows Pope Leo XIV, flanked by his personal secretary, Monsignor Edgard Iván Rimaycuna Inga, left, celebrating Mass at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where he is recovering after having cancer removed from his right lung. (Vatican Media via AP)

A woman holds photos of Pope Leo XIV as she prays at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where the pontiff is hospitalised, in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The moon rises behind the statue of late Pope St. John Paul II at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Leo XIV is hospitalised, in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, where he's expected to be operated to remove a lung nodule. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

An image of Pope Leo XIV is seen under the statue of late Pope St. John Paul II at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where the pontiff is hospitalised, in Rome, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

An image of Pope Leo XIV is seen under the statue of late Pope St. John Paul II at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where the pontiff is hospitalised, in Rome, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)