Palestinians and American journalists were injured by Israeli settlers in a harvest attack in the West Bank

The BBC sees masked settlers attack Palestinians trying to harvest olives, amid an increase in similar incidents.

By Middle East Correspondent Lucy Williamson, reporting from Abu Falah

Dozens of masked settlers attacked Palestinians and set fire to cars and olive trees during the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank.

A BBC team witnessed one of several attacks on farmland near the Palestinian village of Abu Falah. A local official said the attacks wounded 12 Palestinians, including four dual-Palestinian American citizens. A foreign journalist was also among the wounded.

Driving into the area early in the morning, we encountered the first signs of violence: a stream of cars carrying wounded Palestinian olive growers racing along a narrow cobblestone road as smoke rose from several nearby fires.

Majdi Fied's bloodied face looked out from the back seat of one of the cars.

"We were preparing olive trees and about 15 Jewish boys ... started attacking us with guns, stones, with special weapons. They hit me in the head [and] my neck - look, I'm bleeding!"

Majdi - an American citizen - was attacked by settlers with nail sticks and needed treatment for deep wounds on his head, Yasir Elkam, a council member from the neighboring village of Tormos Aya, told me. His elderly mother was also injured.

Another man who was taking the injured to the hospital told us that the settlers attacked them with sticks while harvesting olives, and burned three cars - including one of his own.

"As soon as we got to the ground and put our stuff down, they started coming, so we ran away," said a woman next to him.

In response to a question about the violence, the spokesperson of the US State Department said that they are aware of these reports.

The spokesperson of the US State Department said: "We condemn the criminal violence by any side in the West Bank and demand the investigation, arrest and conviction of those responsible."

Watching the vehicles pass by, 73-year-old Umm Khaldoun told me firmly that no matter what happens, he will always return to his homeland. "This is my land. It's my right [to be here]," he told me.

The UN says there have been more violent Israeli settler attacks in the past two weeks than in the entire harvest season last year.

Olive picking in the West Bank is now a test of speed, the trees quickly shedding fruit as soon as the sun rises, before violent Israeli settlers attack.

In another nearby olive grove, we watched as dozens of farmers used power tools to clear the trees as fast as they could—one eye on the ridge above us, where a group of settlers had gathered in a new illegal outpost, watching the olive harvest below.

Standing on ladders, Palestinian farmers worked quickly, sending streams of olives onto plastic sheets placed under the trees. The owner of the land, Amin Khalil, told me that three villages had gathered to harvest these olives. Defense against the attack, he said that his land is now surrounded by seven settlements and Jewish outposts.

All Israeli settlements are illegal according to international law. Outposts – small camps on hills – are also illegal under Israeli law, but many are still state-sponsored.

"It's a hot spot - there are seven settlements around," Amin Khalil told me. "This year, all the people came together because when only a few people are working on the edge of the village, the settlers attack. So today all the families are working together."

But this tactic does not work today. As we watch, dozens of settlers, all dressed in black, march down the hill towards us, setting fire to several groups of olive trees.

Screams of terror can be heard from Palestinian farmers, shouting for the children to leave the fields. Some quickly start wrapping the olives to leave.

But with so many people on both sides, the confrontation comes to an uneasy stalemate. We see settlers throwing stones at us with slingshots and young Palestinian men running to throw stones in return.

With the arrival of Israeli forces, the stalemate begins. As the farmers quickly retreat, the settlers start running towards us. Some Palestinians set off fireworks to push back the settlers.

American journalist Heidi Levine from the Washington Post was injured in this attack. He described how dozens of settlers ambushed him at the scene while he was reporting.

"Don't jump." "I was on the ground and they were kicking me and I was trying to hold on to my camera and my bag," he said. I had my helmet and leather jacket on to protect me. They made me stand up and kicked me again and this went on for at least 10 minutes.

In a statement, Washington Post editor Matt Murray said Levin was clearly identifiable as a journalist.

He said: "We are outraged by this unjustified attack on a journalist who is doing his job, and we ask the authorities to conduct a full investigation and follow-up."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that personnel had been dispatched to the area "following reports of a violent conflict". It is said that a female reporter was injured during this conflict. and that "all circumstances" surrounding the incident will be investigated.

As the farmers retreated, the sound of war bullets echoed across the fields. It is unclear whether settlers or Israeli forces were firing.

Minutes later, Israeli forces began firing tear gas into Palestinian fields to end the standoff — a well-worn Israeli model for managing these conflicts.

The UN says settler attacks on olive harvests this year have killed one Palestinian and injured more than 120 others in the West Bank so far this year.

Illegal Jewish outposts have mushroomed here in the past few years, clustering around Palestinian olive groves.

What we witnessed was part of a pattern that repeated itself daily as settler outposts increased here.

The annual olive harvest has become a test of how Israel's heavily pro-settlement government policies affect Palestinians, overseeing growing violence by settler extremists and fueling Jewish claims to the land.