Israeli settlers attack Palestinian villages, torch cars and trees during olive harvest

The violence comes ahead of Israel's October 27 election Israeli settlers attacked at least eight Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank on Friday, setting cars and trees on fire and assaulting residents and a foreign journalist, as violence disrupted the annual olive harvest.The attacks were reported by local officials and the Palestine Red Crescent Society in the northern West Bank, where much of the territory's olive production is concentrated. Tens of thousands of Palestinian families rely on the harvest for their livelihoods.The violence comes ahead of Israel's October 27 election, with settler attacks having risen sharply this year and intensified in recent weeks. The far-right government, accused of encouraging the settlers, faces the prospect of either losing power or securing another term.Rights groups slam Israeli forces Residents and human rights organisations say Israeli authorities have done little to stop settler attacks. They allege that soldiers have sometimes helped settlers, protected them or stood by while Palestinian villages came under assault.The violence has prompted accusations of “ethnic cleansing”, including from the British government, which accus...