Knesset Members Join Mass Solidarity Olive Harvest in West Bank After Violent Attacks; NGOs Allege State Complicity

NGOs and lawmakers organize mass ‘solidarity harvest’ after attacks near Burin

Rabbis for Human Rights and Peace Now have called for a large solidarity olive harvest in the West Bank this Friday following an attack on Palestinian and Israeli pickers near the village of Burin. Organizers say the event will include several Knesset members and hundreds of volunteers and is intended to protect Palestinian farmers and draw attention to a spike in settler violence during the harvest season.

What organizers say

MKs Gilad Kariv and Naama Lazimi are expected to take part, along with other public figures and volunteers mobilized by the two NGOs. The groups say the solidarity harvest aims to provide additional physical protection for farmers, document attacks, and present a united front against extremist violence.

Violence during the harvest

According to UN data cited by the groups, October 2025 was the most violent month of the olive harvest since 2006. The season, which began in mid-October, has seen more than 250 recorded attacks on Palestinians so far, activists say.

Rabbis for Human Rights reports that its activists were pelted with stones and that a settler-operated drone struck a female rabbi from their team last week. The organization also says that, after the drone incident, live rounds were fired in the direction of the activists.

Calls to the authorities

Rabbis for Human Rights Executive Director Avi Dabush says he has sent urgent letters to both the prime minister and the defense minister but received no response. Dabush warned of broader implications for Israeli society if authorities fail to intervene.

“What’s happening today in the West Bank is a test for Israeli society. When our army stands by, when the police arrest no attackers and ignore our appeals, we are witnessing the collapse of the rule of law — and Jewish terror has effectively become government policy,” Dabush said. “There’s a direct line between this terror, the erosion of democracy, and the security abandonment within Israel itself. Anyone who thinks the violence will remain only in the West Bank is deluding themselves.”

He added: “We will not give in. For over twenty years, we have stood alongside Palestinian farmers in the name of the most basic Jewish values: ‘Love the stranger,’ ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue.’ The harvest is not only about olives — it’s a symbol of the fundamental right of people to live and work their land in dignity.”

Allegations of state complicity

Peace Now executive director Lior Amihai charged that settler attacks are not only increasing but are being enabled by government policies. In a statement, he accused authorities of failing to arrest perpetrators and effectively allowing extremist groups to act with impunity.

“Instead of fighting terrorism and arresting the perpetrators, the government has turned hilltop terrorists into an operational arm on the ground — paving the way for de facto annexation. But Jewish terror will not intimidate us,” Amihai said. “This is a battle over Israel’s character and moral soul. This Friday, we will come in force to say loud and clear: We will not be silent in the face of settler terror!”

Organizers say the solidarity harvest is both a practical measure to help farmers harvest safely and a public demonstration against violence and dispossession. Observers say the outcome could influence public debate about law enforcement, accountability, and the future of contested lands in the West Bank.