Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/17/settler-attacks
As olive harvest season officially begins in Palestine, attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian farmers have increased drastically. Attacks consist of both physical attacks, including assault, stoning, and pepper spray, as well as attacks on their livelihoods through the burning and uprooting of hundreds of olive trees. Between 80,000 to 100,000 Palestinian families rely on olives and their products as a main or secondary source of income. However, there is little action that can be taken since the Israeli settlers are often armed and are protected by the Israeli army. In addition to instilling terror upon hundreds of families, the attacks seem to be primarily carried out to take over land, as has already been occurring through illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank which allow them to easily descend on Palestinian olive farmers.
This situation is representative of the larger battles taking place between Palestine and Israel. As Israeli settlers continue to slowly gain more and more Palestinian land, it is likely that attacks will only further increase. Given the history that drives the heated conflict between Israel and Palestine, it is unlikely that they will reach any compromise to end the problems that continue to arise there. Rather, it is more likely that the situation will continue to worsen until Palestinians revolt, and then the international community will have a tough decision to make based on alliances and human rights issues, or they will simply turn a blind eye as with many conflicts.
The themes of international development and international security are at play here, with Israel continuing to gain more land to develop its country at the expense of Palestine, which only weakens their security even more while Israel becomes more secure as they gain more land. Additionally, Palestine is a non-recognized state. Due to this, they lack the international support that they would need to gain some support against the intrusion of Israel. Unlike Palestine, Israel is recognized as a state and thus is able to encroach on Palestinian land while also supporting their illegal settlers without any international pushback or condemnation.