Settlers ignite blaze that razes olive groves and damages factory in West Bank

On Monday morning a fire broke out near the al-Omari aluminium factory in the village of Ein Siniya, north of Ramallah, and spread across roughly 50 dunams of olive orchards, destroying the trees and damaging the industrial yard. Local council head Emad Khater reported that a settler from the Atara hilltops was seen near the site before the blaze, and that Israeli soldiers prevented residents and workers from fighting the fire.

The factory owner, Abdul Samad Abdul Aziz, said settlers had entered the premises in late July and set fire to heavy machinery, resulting in losses of about $700,000. The attack follows a pattern of settler-led sabotage targeting farms and factories across Areas B and C, including assaults on facilities owned by Khaled al-Zaarir and the al-Junaidi dairy plants, which have left many Palestinians without income. Economist Moayad Afanah warned that such destruction deepens the West Bank’s economic crisis, where unemployment already stands at 29 percent. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission recorded 798 settler attacks in July alone, underscoring a systematic effort to force Palestinians off their land.