Ramallah: Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank face an uncertain olive harvest as access restrictions, settlement encroachment and the destruction of longstanding groves threaten both their income and their connection to the land.
On September 24, Israeli forces uprooted 400 olive trees on 31 dunams of Palestinian land in Beit Rima, near Ramallah. The trees had supported Palestinian families for generations.
Attacks have continued as harvesting begins. The illegal squatters sponsored and supported by the occupation attacked farmers in Odla, south of Nablus, on October 1 and prevented them from gathering their olives.
On October 2, they reportedly fired live ammunition towards olive pickers in the Jabal Al Arma area near Beita. These incidents follow a documented pattern spanning multiple harvest seasons.
Between October, 6 and 19, 2020, the UN humanitarian office, OCHA, recorded 19 harvest related incidents involving people believed or known to be Israeli settlers. Twenty three Palestinian farmers were injured, more than 1000 olive trees were burned or otherwise damaged, and produce was stolen.
Between October 1 and November 10, 2025, OCHA documented 167 harvest related squatter launched attacks affecting 87 Palestinian towns and villages. More than 5700 trees and saplings, mainly olive trees, were reported vandalised.
OCHA also documented tightly restricted access through agricultural gates and checkpoints. Some families reached their groves only to find trees uprooted, burned or already harvested.
The damage extends beyond a single season’s crop. Destroying mature trees removes a continuing source of income, while restricted access prevents farmers from tending surviving groves and gathering their harvest.
