Israeli settlers were seen attacking Palestinians and setting fire to olive trees during the harvest in the occupied West Bank.

About a dozen settlers dressed in black came down a hill near an outpost and entered a field where Palestinians and activists were picking olives. They set fire to about a dozen trees and used slingshots to throw stones. The outpost is illegal under international law.

Photographer Heidi Levine, who was at the scene, was taken to hospital. She said she had been attacked and kicked while on the ground.

The UN says settler attacks in the past two weeks have already exceeded the total for the entire harvest season last year. It says settler violence this year has reached a record high.