In recent years — and especially since 7 October 2023 — there has been a sharp increase in both the number and severity of settler attacks against Palestinians. The incidents reported on this blog do not reflect all incidents of settler violence in the West Bank, but only those that B’Tselem was able to document and investigate.
Sari Abu Zeina being evacuated to the hospital. Courtesy of the family.
On Friday, 17 October 2025, at around 8:00 A.M., two farming families from the town of Qabalan arrived at their olive groves on their lands in an area defined under the Oslo Accords as Area B of the West Bank, on the eastern outskirts of Qabalan, to harvest olives.
Shortly after they arrived, the farmers heard three gunshots nearby. They continued harvesting but about half-an-hour later, five masked settlers armed with sticks fitted with nails appeared in one of the families’ groves. At that time, Lina Abu Zeina, 46, was harvesting olives there together with her 2 sons, ages 28 and 12, and her 11-year-old grandson, after the father of the family had moved away to check on another part of the grove.
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Sari Abu Zeina being evacuated to the hospital. Courtesy of the family.
The settlers began beating the family and vandalizing their vehicle. They struck Lina, her sons and her grandson with sticks.
Lina collapsed on the ground and lost consciousness for a short time due to the force of the blows.
The family members cried out for help, and a couple harvesting olives nearby, Nuha Az’ar, 52, and her husband ‘Abd al-Wahab, came to their aid. Shortly afterward, Lina’s husband, Akram Abu Zeinah, who had been on the other side of their land, also arrived. When the couple approached, the settlers fled.
Akram and ‘Abd al-Wahab helped the family get into ‘Abd al-Wahab’s car. Akram then got into his own car, which had been damaged by the settlers. As they began to drive away, about 20 settlers emerged from among the trees and attacked the vehicles with clubs and stones.
The settlers smashed Abd al-Wahab’s car and lightly injured his arm. The families nevertheless managed to leave the area and reached the clinic in Qabalan. From there they were transferred to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus.
Lina required stitches to her head and her leg was broken. Her son and grandson also required stitches to their heads.
Both families’ vehicles were vandalized and their windows were smashed.
B’Tselem field researcher Salma a-Dib’i collected testimonies about the incident:
Lina Abu Zeina, 46, a mother of 6, recounted:
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Muhammad Abu Zeina after being injured. Courtesy of the family.
On Friday, 17 October 2025, I arrived at our land together with my husband Akram, 57, my son Sari, 28, my son ‘Abd a-Rahman, 12, and my grandson Muhammad Mansour, 11. Our land is on the northeastern side of the town, in an area known as ‘Ein al-Qasab. We have a plot of about 8 dunams (~2 acres) there, with about 65 mature olive trees and around 100 young ones. As we began spreading out the tarps we collect the olives on, we heard 3 gunshots. I was very scared. Our land is in Area B, so settlers aren’t supposed to be there, but the daily news about settler attacks on farmers made me afraid. I asked my husband to go back home, but he said there was nothing to worry about and that he would go check the young trees on the other side of the plot.
Suddenly, a car arrived from the direction of the village of Jurish with five settlers inside. They stopped next to our car and all five got out. I was standing there with my children and my grandson behind me, and all I could think about was how to protect them. The settlers were holding wooden sticks with nails at their ends. Two of them went to our car, and the other three came toward us. One of them immediately struck my son Sari with a stick, and another hit me on the leg with a stick. I fell to the ground right away, and the third hit my son ‘Abd a-Rahman with his hand. Another settler struck my grandson Muhammad on the head, and he bled heavily. They kept hitting Sari over and over, and I screamed and called for help. Then one of them hit me on the head and neck with a stick, and I lost consciousness.
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Lina Abu Zeina’s leg. Credit: Salma a-Dib’i, B’Tselem
When I woke up, my son was calling me and saying he felt dizzy. I called out to ‘Abd a-Rahman, but he did not answer. Muhammad was crying. I thought they had taken ‘Abd a-Rahman, and I kept calling his name over and over. In the end he heard me and came out from where he had been hiding among the trees. At that moment, our neighbor ‘Abd al-Wahab, who had been in the adjacent plot with his wife, arrived to help us. We got into his Skoda, but before he could drive off, settlers appeared again and attacked the car with stones and sticks. They were apparently hiding in the area. I told my children to cover their heads. ‘Abd al-Wahab managed to drive away despite the attack. We were afraid we would die there, because there were so many of them; about 20 settlers seemed to have been hiding in the area.
My husband drove behind us in our car and, with great difficulty, we managed to get out of there. We reached the clinic in the town, and from there we were evacuated by ambulance to Rafidya Hospital in Nablus. At the hospital, they stitched the wound on my grandson Muhammad’s head and the three deep wounds on my son Sari’s head, and then we went back home without me really being examined. But my left leg hurt very badly. I had a wound there, apparently from the nail at the end of the settlers’ stick, and when I saw that I could not step on it, I returned to the hospital. The doctor said I needed to be examined by an orthopedist. When the orthopedist arrived, he put my leg in a cast. To this day, I still suffer from pain and dizziness due to stress, and Sari still has painful headaches.
Nuha Az’ar, 52, a mother of five, recounted:
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Nuha Az’ar. Credit: Salma a-Dib’i, B’Tselem
On Friday, 17 October 2025, at around 8:00 A.M., I arrived with my family at our land on the eastern side of the town to harvest olives. We have about 2 dunams (0.5 acres) there, with around 25 mature olive trees. The path to the plot is hilly, so we parked the car about 200 meters away and continued on foot. When we arrived, we saw that the trees were almost bare of olives. While we were checking the trees, we heard gunfire, about three shots. We were very surprised and did not understand what was happening, because the area had been completely quiet until then.
About half-an-hour later, we heard shouting and calls for help. We ran toward the sounds and reached our neighbor Akram Abu Zeina’s olive grove. We were shocked to see five settlers attacking [his family]. The settlers were holding thick wooden sticks and beating Akram’s wife and children brutally. The screams were heartbreaking. Two of the settlers were hitting their car with sticks. I asked my son’s wife to take the children and run away immediately, even though the path was difficult, because I feared for their lives, especially because she was seven months pregnant.
My husband and I ran toward the Abu Zeina family. We were about 150 meters away from them and shouted for help. When the settlers saw us, they fled. When we reached the family, the first thing I saw was Sari, Akram’s son. He was bleeding heavily from his head and his clothes were soaked in blood. Akram’s wife was lying on the ground and speaking incoherently. She asked where her children were. She told me she was in terrible pain and couldn’t stand. I tore Sari’s shirt and pressed on the wound on his head to stop the bleeding. I asked my husband to take them to the hospital. At that same moment, Akram arrived and helped his wife and children get into my husband’s car. He was shocked by the scene and didn’t know how to react. He told me that at the time of the attack he had been on the other side of the grove, checking the young trees there, until he heard the shouting.
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The shattered windshield of the Az’ar family’s car. Courtesy of the witness
After we helped them get into the car, Akram got into his own car, which had been damaged by the settlers and had all its windows smashed. I told my husband that I would walk with our children, following my son and daughter-in-law. My husband and Akram drove off. I followed behind with our children. After we had gone a few meters, I again heard loud noises and shouting. The settlers were still in the area and were attacking my husband’s car with sticks and stones. He kept driving without stopping, scared they would kill them. I saw it all happen from a distance. After I made sure the settlers had left, I continued along a different route farther away from them and called my husband to make sure everyone was okay.
My husband took Lina and her family to the clinic in the village. Later, he told me that he had been lightly injured in his left arm but didn’t need medical treatment. Our car was badly damaged. All the front, rear and side windows were shattered, and its frame was damaged. My husband repaired the car, it cost about 3,000 NIS [~950 USD].
