Abduction of Palestinians by Israeli occupiers on rise in occupied West Bank: Officials

Abductions and arbitrary detention of Palestinians by Israeli occupiers have increased across the occupied West Bank, particularly targeting farmers and rural communities, Palestinian officials and rights groups said Monday.

Salah al-Khawaja, director of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission’s office in the central West Bank, told Anadolu that such incidents were often accompanied by abuse and violence.

“Palestinians were being detained at makeshift checkpoints or seized during attacks on farmers and rural and Bedouin communities,” he said.

Amir Daoud, the commission’s documentation official, said the repeated attacks make farmers fear for their lives and freedom when accessing their land and could discourage them from reaching their fields.

“The impact of the attacks extends from the victim to the entire village and becomes a means of intimidating residents and weakening their connection to their land,” Daoud said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in May 2025 that it had documented around 36 incidents since October 2023 in which Israeli occupiers, some wearing military uniforms, abducted or detained at least 50 Palestinians, including three children.

Palestinian rights group Al-Haq also said in a Sept. 24 report that documented cases showed an “increasing pattern” of abductions and unlawful arbitrary detentions.

In the latest reported incidents, Israeli occupiers abducted seven Palestinians on Saturday, according to the official Voice of Palestine radio.

The outlet said three abductions were reported in Nahalin west of Bethlehem, three in Qaffin north of Tulkarem and a farmer in Beit Imrin near Nablus, adding that their fate was not immediately known.

Daoud accused the Israeli army of providing protection to occupiers during some incidents, saying the Qaffin attack took place under army protection.

Systematic policy

Settlement affairs researcher Jamal Juma said the abductions were part of a “systematic policy” targeting Palestinian presence in Area C, which makes up around 60% of the occupied West Bank and remains under full Israeli control.

Under the 1995 Oslo II Agreement, which was intended as a temporary arrangement, the occupied West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C.

Area A is under full Palestinian civil and security control, Area B under Palestinian civil and Israeli security control, while Area C remains under full Israeli control and makes up around 60% of the West Bank.

The incidents have drawn particular concern during the olive harvest season, when Palestinian farmers face attacks including beatings, denial of access to fields, theft of crops and damage to trees.

According to the official Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, more than 26,000 olive trees were cut down or damaged across the West Bank during the first half of 2026.

The olive harvest season began on Sept. 20 with olives intended for pickling, while harvesting varieties used for olive oil production is scheduled to begin on Oct. 15.

Since Israel began its genocide in Gaza in October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers against Palestinians and their property have intensified across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The attacks include killings and arrests of Palestinians, the demolition of homes and structures, the burning of mosques and vehicles, bulldozing of agricultural land, preventing farmers from reaching their fields, stealing crops, displacement and illegal settlement expansion.

​​​​​​​Palestinians warn that Israel is paving the way through such measures for the formal annexation of the West Bank, in a move that would undermine the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state as envisioned in relevant UN resolutions.