As the olive harvest season begins in the occupied West Bank, the suffering of Palestinian farmers is exacerbated by escalating attacks by Israeli occupation forces and settlers, threatening the season and causing these farmers heavy losses.During the olive harvest, Palestinian farmers are subjected to repeated attacks by settlers under the protection of the occupation army, often preventing them from accessing their lands and exacerbating their daily suffering.For thousands of Palestinian families in the West Bank, olive harvesting is a primary source of income and an integral part of Palestinian cultural heritage. Therefore, settlers, under the protection of the occupation army, deliberately harass olive pickers and deny them access to their lands.According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the occupation army and its settlers have carried out a total of 158 attacks against olive pickers since the beginning of the current season, resulting in significant material and moral damage.These attacks range from violent physical assaults, arrest campaigns, restrictions on movement, denial of access, intimidation and terror of all kinds, to direct gunfire, as occurred in Tubas Governorate, in addition to 22 cases of beating and assaulting farmers.These attacks resulted in damage to approximately 26,278 olive trees, including uprooting trees, destroying crops, and stealing olives.Activists launched the “Olive 25” campaign in solidarity with Palestinians in the face of attacks during the olive harvest season. The presence of foreign activists is a crucial part of this campaign, supporting the farmers’ resilience.
Double suffering
A farmer from the town of Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah, spoke to Safa News Agency about the daily struggles farmers face in reaching their lands to harvest olives due to the occupation’s measures.He says, “We are subjected to repeated attacks by settlers every day as we try to reach our agricultural lands in Turmus Ayya, in an attempt to prevent us from harvesting our olives.””Last week, while heading to my land in the town, I and a group of farmers were attacked by settlers who fired live bullets and tear gas canisters, injuring a number of farmers and burning several vehicles,” he added.He continues, “We are living in difficult living conditions due to settler attacks on the olive season, which we look forward to annually as it is our only source of livelihood.”It calls for providing protection to Palestinian farmers, halting Israeli attacks against them, and ensuring their safe access to their lands.Settler attacks against Palestinians have reached their highest levels in at least two decades, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).According to OCHA, 71 settler attacks occurred in the West Bank between October 7 and 13, half of which were linked to the olive harvest season.He explained that settlers attacked Palestinians in 27 villages in the West Bank, resulting in injuries and property damage.
systematic policy
Settlement activist Ayed Ghafri says that what is happening to farmers represents a systematic Israeli policy and organized terrorism targeting the olive season in all villages and towns of the West Bank, given its importance to Palestinian citizens.Ghafri explained to Safa News Agency that the olive season represents a primary source of livelihood for hundreds of families in the West Bank and provides thousands of seasonal job opportunities. Therefore, continued attacks on olive trees inflict further losses on farmers and exacerbate their suffering.He points out that the occupation forces and their settlers prevent thousands of farmers from accessing their agricultural lands in the West Bank, assaulting and abusing them, destroying olive trees, stealing their fruit, and vandalizing and burning their crops.According to Ghamri, the settlers’ attacks against farmers are not random, but rather organized and carried out simultaneously, and fall under the umbrella of organized state terrorism, with the aim of completely controlling the West Bank and destroying the dream of a Palestinian state.One of the Palestinian towns most exposed to settler attacks is Turmus Ayya, where olive pickers are attacked, their fruits stolen, farmers’ vehicles burned, and farmers prevented from reaching their lands.
Unwavering steadfastness
Ghamri explained that the farmers were subjected to a fierce settler attack, with the occupation army present in the town of Turmus Ayya. A number of residents’ vehicles were set ablaze and they were attacked, resulting in a number of injuries.He points out that thousands of olive trees have been uprooted in Barqa, Sinjil, Turmus Ayya, and other Palestinian areas, in a clear attempt to terrorize Palestinians, empty the land of them, and force them to emigrate.According to activist Ghamri, what is required is protection and support for Palestinian farmers and the olive season, guarantees for their access to their land, and strengthening their steadfastness, in addition to urgent international intervention to halt the occupation’s attacks against them.Despite the escalation in settler attacks, Palestinians insist on continuing the olive harvest and turning it into a daily act of resistance, a display of their commitment to their land.The olive tree remains a symbol of steadfastness, survival, and identity, and evidence of the Palestinians’ adherence to their land, despite all attempts at uprooting and forced displacement.
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