Israeli settlers are increasingly targeting Palestinian factories, farmland and heavy machinery across the occupied West Bank in attacks aimed at destroying livelihoods and forcing communities off their land.
A fire near the al-Omari aluminium factory in Ein Siniya, north of Ramallah, burned around 50 dunams (12.3 acres) of olive trees and damaged the facility. Local officials said settlers were seen near the site before the blaze and that Israeli soldiers prevented residents and workers from extinguishing it.
The attack followed a July assault on the same industrial area that caused an estimated $700,000 in damage, according to the factory owner.
In another attack near Hebron on August 21, around 30 settlers reportedly damaged excavators, stone-cutting machines, bulldozers and a security office. More than 90% of the heavy equipment was left beyond repair, affecting 55 people whose livelihoods depended on the facility.
Economists and Palestinian officials say such attacks are part of a broader campaign against West Bank industry, designed to cripple the Palestinian economy and make remaining on the land increasingly untenable.
The 'Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission' documented 798 settler attacks in July alone, including property destruction, land levelling, theft and damage to more than 5,000 trees.
Settler terrorism serves a dual purpose: destroying Palestinian livelihoods while creating conditions that push people off their land and facilitate further settlement expansion.
