Why have settler pogroms surged during olive harvest season in West Bank?

France and Belgium condemn settler attack on diplomats, but critics say the EU needs to act beyond words of condemnation. Save Share The European Union has condemned Israeli settler attacks on EU diplomats and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, amid unprecedented settler pogroms during the Palestinian olive harvest. “We expect full accountability as well as effective measures to prevent continued acts of violence and violent harassment against Palestinians, including during the ongoing olive harvest season, as well as against journalists,” the EU said in a statement on Sunday. “We urge Israel to fully abide by International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, and to cease the expansion of settlements.” Israeli settler attacks during this year’s olive harvest season have already surpassed 2025 totals, with critics pointing out that mere condemnations by the EU and member states without holding Israel to account will not deter settler pogroms, which are granted impunity by the Israeli authorities. Saturday’s incident is the latest in weeks of intensifying pogroms against local communities in the occupied West Bank by Israelis from illegal settlements who are largely protected – or at least unrestricted – by Israeli forces. On Friday, Israeli settlers also attacked Palestinian olive pickers and a veteran photojournalist. Why have settler pogroms surged during olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank? Here’s what we know: Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the country’s consul general to the Palestinians, as well as French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, were also among those attacked. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called on the Israeli government to arrest the settlers who assaulted Bernard Baudoux, the mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, and said on X it must “urgently put an end to this criminal violence and ensure the safety of the civilian population”. The assault has prompted an Israeli police investigation, as settler pogroms disrupt the Palestinian harvest across the occupied territory. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration is “very disturbed” by the images of the settler attack onAmerican photojournalist Heidi Levine, 64, who works as a freelance photojournalist for The Washington Post, in the occupied West Bank on Friday....