Illegal Israeli paramilitary colonizers assaulted Palestinian farmers west of Ramallah on Monday, storming agricultural lands in Silwad, Deir Ibzi‘, and Safa under military protection and injuring several Palestinians — including a pregnant woman — in coordinated attacks that coincide with a widening campaign of land destruction and olive‑tree uprooting across the occupied West Bank, most recently in Marda, north of Salfit.
Witnesses said the colonizers came from nearby illegal outposts and advanced toward cultivated plots near Ramallah, where they physically attacked farmers and attempted to force them from their land while Israeli occupation forces stood by without intervening.
Medical sources reported that several Palestinians were assaulted on the outskirts of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, sustaining multiple injuries. Among the wounded was a pregnant woman who was rushed to a hospital in Ramallah for treatment.
In a separate development, Israeli forces recently uprooted hundreds of olive trees from the lands of Marda, north of Salfit, targeting wide areas along the main road in the district.
Local sources said the destruction in Marda is part of a continuous pattern, following earlier violations in which hundreds of trees were uprooted along the road linking Deir Istiya, Kifl Haris, and Marda, causing severe losses to Palestinian farmers and forming a systematic assault on agricultural areas.
Also in the Salfit district, illegal colonizers attacked Palestinian vehicles north of the city, damaging several cars.
Human rights groups have documented a sharp escalation in Israeli violations during the past week, recording 1,385 attacks carried out by Israeli forces and illegal paramilitary colonizers across the West Bank between March 27 and April 2, 2026.
These violations included assaults on farmers, land seizures, tree uprooting, home invasions, and attacks on rural communities, reflecting a coordinated effort to pressure Palestinian residents and restrict access to agricultural areas.
Recent weeks have also witnessed extensive tree‑uprooting operations across the Ramallah and Salfit districts. More than 500 olive trees were destroyed in Turmus Ayya, while military orders targeted hundreds of dunams for clearing in Silwad, Ein Sinya, ‘Atara, and Ni‘lin. Additional large‑scale uprooting was carried out in al‑Mughayir, where thousands of trees were removed from more than 300 dunams of land following direct threats by Israeli military commanders.
Farmers in the Ramallah and Salfit districts say the attacks are designed to make agricultural life impossible, particularly in areas adjacent to colonial roads and outposts.
The repeated assaults, combined with the destruction of olive groves and the issuance of new military orders targeting farmland, have deepened fears of a long‑term strategy aimed at isolating Palestinian villages and erasing agricultural livelihoods.
