Italy is seeking clarification from Israel after activists accompanying Palestinian olive farmers were detained in the West Bank, where U.N. data show harvest-related settler attacks have already exceeded the full 2025 tally.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said the Israel Defense Forces detained the activists Thursday, Oct. 22, in al-Bweib, south of Hebron. The ministry said its embassy in Tel Aviv and consulate general in Jerusalem asked Israeli officials for details about the circumstances and the women’s situation. It said Israel confirmed four Italian citizens were at a police station, but did not name them or identify the station.
La Repubblica, Quotidiano.net and DIRE reported that five women had been detained, while the ministry said Israeli authorities confirmed four citizens were at a police station. The ministry’s statement did not explain how the counts relate.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) counted 199 settler attacks connected to the olive harvest from Sept. 1 through Oct. 12. The agency linked one Palestinian death and 124 injuries to the incidents and recorded damage to more than 2,500 trees and saplings. That tally was already higher than the 185 incidents OCHA documented across the 2025 harvest season.
OCHA estimates the harvest supports 80,000 to 100,000 Palestinian families. Citing the Israeli group Peace Now, the agency said about 88,300 dunums of farmland required prior coordination for the 2026 harvest, nearly 30% more than in 2025. OCHA warned that access limits, violence and harm to agricultural assets put farmers’ livelihoods at risk.
