Israeli settlers attack Palestinians with impunity, halting West Bank olive harvest

Israel's cabinet has extended legal status to 19 previously illegal settlements in the West Bank, leading to increased violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinian communities. Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, attacks have sharply increased, with masked settlers armed with bats and Molotov cocktails attacking Palestinian villages, destroying olive groves, and setting homes and churches on fire. Palestinian farmers are too afraid to harvest their olives, and many have been injured or killed. Despite international outrage, the Israeli government has been criticized for not doing enough to curb the violence, with many attacks going unpunished.