{"id":"1792715256446-news-segment","slug":"record-attacks-on-west-bank-olive-harvest","title":"Record attacks on West Bank olive harvest","summary":"During the October olive harvest, Israeli settlers and forces carried out 409 attacks on Palestinian farmers and land in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission — 317 by settlers and 92 by Israeli forces. Attacks included beatings, shootings, burning and uprooting olive trees, theft of crops and livestock, and blocking farmers from their land. One Palestinian, Ali Hassan Bazzari, died from settler gunfire on Oct. 7; more than 120 people have been injured and over 2,500 trees damaged since Sept. 1, per UN OCHA. Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was seriously injured in an Oct. 16 settler attack; nine of ten settler suspects arrested over attacks on a US journalist and European diplomats were released to house arrest.\n\nThe olive harvest is an economic lifeline for 80,000–100,000 Palestinians, and settler groups use the season to assert control over land, often with backing from religious figures like Rabbi Dov Lior, who ruled Jews may harvest olives from Palestinian orchards to \"demonstrate ownership.\" Israeli authorities have offered conflicting accounts, with the PM's office questioning settler blame and the army saying it intervened in a confrontation; an Al Jazeera investigation found military vehicles passed by without intervening.\n\nTom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor known for \"Alien,\" \"Top Gun\" and \"Picket Fences,\" died at 93 on Oct. 22, according to the Associated Press.\n\nThe 409-attack figure comes from the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, not the PM's office, but the breakdown matches: 317 by settlers and 92 by Israeli forces in October. This is a political endorsement and future promises, not a checkable factual claim. Generic business advice, no factual claim.","publishedAt":"2026-10-23T00:27:36.446Z","channel":{"id":"news","name":"Oncast News","language":"en"},"show":"News Tonight","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor known for \"Alien,\" \"Top Gun\" and \"Picket Fences,\" died at 93 on Oct. 22, according to the Associated Press.\nSource: [apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/tom-skerritt-dies-598ccdd4849ea7fe3b72b71319a4ef9b) (https://x.com/Reuters/status/2113425183209844950)\n\nTRUE: The 409-attack figure comes from the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, not the PM's office, but the breakdown matches: 317 by settlers and 92 by Israeli forces in October. This is a political endorsement and future promises, not a checkable factual claim. Generic business advice, no factual claim.\nSource: [aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/22/israel-frees-suspects-in-two-settler-attacks-as-west-bank-pogroms-intensify) POST 2113425556117311713: (https://x.com/AJEnglish/status/2113425167753879786)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor known for \"Alien,\" \"Top Gun\" and \"Picket Fences,\" died at 93 on Oct. 22, according to the Associated Press.","sourceName":"[apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/tom-skerritt-dies-598ccdd4849ea7fe3b72b71319a4ef9b)","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/Reuters/status/2113425183209844950","claim":"Actor Tom Skerritt, star of 'Alien' and 'Top Gun,' dies at 93 https://t.co/toS0PHKgdB https://t.co/toS0PHKgdB","author":"@Reuters"},{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"The 409-attack figure comes from the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, not the PM's office, but the breakdown matches: 317 by settlers and 92 by Israeli forces in October. This is a political endorsement and future promises, not a checkable factual claim. Generic business advice, no factual claim.","sourceName":"[aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/22/israel-frees-suspects-in-two-settler-attacks-as-west-bank-pogroms-intensify) POST 2113425556117311713:","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/AJEnglish/status/2113425167753879786","claim":"Israeli forces and settlers carried out 409 attacks on Palestinian olive farmers and their land in the occupied West Bank over three weeks, including 317 by settlers and 92 by the military, the Palestinian PM’s office says. 🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/QV873mUcAr https://t.co/eD","author":"Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/Reuters/status/2113425183209844950","name":"[apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/tom-skerritt-dies-598ccdd4849ea7fe3b72b71319a4ef9b)","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"@Reuters"},{"url":"https://x.com/AJEnglish/status/2113425167753879786","name":"[aljazeera.com](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/22/israel-frees-suspects-in-two-settler-attacks-as-west-bank-pogroms-intensify) POST 2113425556117311713:","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1792715256446-news-segment-record-attacks-on-west-bank-olive-harvest","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/news","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1792715256446-news-segment-record-attacks-on-west-bank-olive-harvest","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1792715256446-news-segment-record-attacks-on-west-bank-olive-harvest and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Brian","text":"We've been watching a wave of violence in the West Bank during the olive harvest, and the numbers now are staggering."},{"host":"Brian","text":"Al Jazeera is reporting 409 attacks on Palestinian olive farmers and their land in just three weeks."},{"host":"Bella","text":"317 of those by settlers, 92 by Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission."},{"host":"Brian","text":"And this isn't random. The olive harvest is the economic lifeline for up to 100,000 Palestinians. It's when the land question gets settled, tree by tree."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Since September first, more than 120 people injured, over 2,500 trees damaged. And this is not a one-year problem, Brian."},{"host":"Brian","text":"The Israeli Prime Minister's office says the facts around at least one confrontation are unclear — they say 200 Arabs and far-left activists faced off with 40 Israeli youths."},{"host":"Bella","text":"An Al Jazeera investigation tells a different story. Coordinated masked settlers attacking, and military vehicles passing by without intervening."},{"host":"Brian","text":"The UN says more than 200 Israeli attacks since September. That already tops the 185 documented in all of 2025."},{"host":"Bella","text":"And one name stands out: Heidi Levine, a Washington Post photojournalist, seriously injured in a settler attack on October 16th. Nine of ten suspects arrested over attacks on her and European diplomats — released to house arrest."},{"host":"Brian","text":"House arrest for attacking journalists and diplomats! That is not justice, that is a message."},{"host":"Bella","text":"Okay, hold on. The Israeli account says there were provocations on both sides. We need to wait for the full investigation."},{"host":"Brian","text":"Bella, the evidence from the ground — videos, witnesses, the number of attacks — it points in one direction. The olive harvest is a tool of displacement."},{"host":"Bella","text":"And that is exactly what makes it dangerous. When the harvest is an existential fight, violence becomes predictable. Both sides see the trees as territory."},{"host":"Brian","text":"No, no, wait. One side owns the land and the other side is seizing it with guns and fire. You cannot moral-equivalence this."},{"host":"Bella","text":"I'm not doing that. I'm saying the anger runs so deep that every October becomes a battlefield. That's the reality."},{"host":"Brian","text":"The reality is that the harvest is when settler groups bring in religious rulings — Rabbi Dov Lior ruled Jews may harvest Palestinian olives to 'demonstrate ownership.' That's not a dispute, that's a doctrine."},{"host":"Bella","text":"And if that doctrine survives another harvest, the map changes. Not in a treaty room — in the orchards."},{"host":"Brian","text":"That's the point. This is the quiet annexation."},{"host":"Brian","text":"Meanwhile, there's a nasty rumor blowing around Bluesky tonight."},{"host":"Brian","text":"An account called Hoodlum is pushing that 'Breaking News' is alleging Lindsey Graham is gay. And another account is piling on, claiming he used male escorts while pushing anti-LGBTQ laws."},{"host":"Bella","text":"So, two problems. First, there's no credible source for any of this. Second, even if there were, someone's private life is not a weapon."},{"host":"Brian","text":"It's exactly the old playbook: smear a guy with what his own side hates. It's lazy and it's cruel."},{"host":"Bella","text":"And it's unverified. We checked — there is no reporting, no named source, nothing. Just a Bluesky post with 333 likes and a bad taste."},{"host":"Brian","text":"The real story would be hypocrisy, if it were true. But that's an if we don't get to pretend is settled."},{"host":"Bella","text":"And on a lighter note. Blue Heron Farm posted a picture from Costco with the caption 'Breaking news from Costco' — and it's been liked 99 times."},{"host":"Brian","text":"You know what? After the day we've had, a Costco cat might be exactly what the internet needed."},{"host":"Bella","text":"A cat in the warehouse, Brian. Probably doing quality control on the rotisserie chickens."},{"host":"Brian","text":"That's a cat with a career."},{"host":"Bella","text":"We'll take the small joys where we can find them. More after this."}]}