Israeli settlers sabotage Palestinian factories to force displacement

A major fire allegedly started by Israeli settlers burned olive trees and farmland in the occupied West Bank. The blaze broke out near the al-Omari aluminum factory in the village of Ein Siniya, north of Ramallah, on Monday morning, spreading across about 50 dunams (12.3 acres) of mature olive trees and damaging the industrial facility's premises.

According to sources speaking with Al Jazeera, the incident occurred amid a settler campaign targeting the West Bank economy, including farmland and factories, with the aim of pushing Palestinians to leave. Emad Khater, head of the Ein Siniya village council, said a settler from the Atara hill area was seen near the facility before the fire broke out. When the fire started, Israeli soldiers prevented residents and workers from extinguishing it.

Khater stressed: “This is one of a series of previous systematic attacks on Ein Siniya, including deliberate arson of trees, homes, and vehicles, along with theft and assaults that injured residents and factory workers.” Ein Siniya is located in Area B under the Oslo Accords, which is under Palestinian administrative control and joint Israeli-Palestinian security.

Abdul Samad Abdul Aziz, the owner of the Ein Siniya facility, said Israelis from illegal settlements infiltrated the industrial zone in late July and set fire to heavy equipment. A stone crusher was severely damaged, causing an estimated $700,000 in losses. Settlers established an outpost on the road leading to the area, along with livestock, after displacing Palestinian shepherds. Abdul Aziz said that since the settlers arrived, vehicles and offices have been repeatedly attacked “with the aim of restricting the facility's operations and forcing the owners to leave.”

Khaled al-Zaarir, from the town of as-Samu, south of Hebron, told Al Jazeera that about 30 settlers attacked one of his industrial facilities on August 21, following repeated death threats. Two excavators, three stone-cutting machines, three bulldozers, and a security office were vandalized. A fire set by settlers left more than 90% of the heavy equipment “beyond repair,” affecting 55 people who derived income directly or indirectly from the facility.

Economist Moayad Afanah said that industrial facilities in Areas B and C of the West Bank are being targeted by settlers “in an organized and deliberate manner.” Recent attacks on the al-Junaidi dairy factory in the Tulkarem area appear to follow this trend. “The financial toll is enormous; burning a bulldozer or excavator can cost investors hundreds of thousands of shekels (tens of thousands of dollars), ultimately eroding the Palestinian economy and continuously draining their resources. These attacks succeed in creating an environment that repels investment and livelihoods,” Afanah warned. He added that the deliberate sabotage is deepening the economic crisis in the West Bank, where unemployment has already reached 29%.

Amir Dawoud, an official with the Commission against Settlements and the Separation Wall (CRRC), said his organization recorded 798 settler attacks in July alone, including 440 cases of property destruction and land leveling, 67 confiscations and thefts, and the destruction or poisoning of 5,027 trees. On March 25, settlers pitched tents near a concrete factory in Taybeh. On August 16, they targeted stone-cutting machines in Sinjil, cutting cables and stealing valuable electronic circuit boards.

Dawoud warned that such damage could cause dozens of families to lose their income, all with the intent to control West Bank land and force Palestinians to leave their homes. “Settler terrorism serves two functions: inflicting direct economic losses and creating a coercive environment that pushes Palestinians to withdraw from their land, paving the way for colonial expansion and territorial control,” he concluded.