Violence, destruction and access restrictions during the olive harvest

Olive trees and the olive harvest occupy a central place in Palestinian life and tradition in the West Bank. Olive groves cover much of the West Bank’s farmland, and, according to UN figures, the olive harvest is the sole or main source of income for 80,000 to 100,000 families. For years, the harvest season has been a flashpoint for settler violence against Palestinians. The 2025 harvest season was particularly difficult.

During the harvest months of October and November 2025, the UN documented 178 settler attacks directly related to the harvest that resulted in bodily injuries and/or property damage. The number of incidents involving “only” threats or not directly concerning the harvest was much higher. On average, three harvest-related violent incidents were documented every day, including assaults on farmers and human rights activists inside the olive groves or on their way there, denial of access to groves using threats or force, crop theft, theft or vandalism of agricultural equipment, and a record number of more than 6,000 trees and saplings damaged. In many cases, soldiers, Border Police officers, and settlement security personnel were present during the incidents and sometimes took part in them.

In two cases, in the villages of Beita and Deir Jarir, a Palestinian child and a young man were killed during the harvest. In Beita, a child died from inhaling tear gas fired by a military force in the groves. In Deir Jarir, a young man was shot by soldiers who arrived following a settler attack. Dozens of other harvesters and several protective presence activists were injured and required medical treatment, and many reported severe psychological distress.

Over the olive harvest season, incidents of violence and vandalism were recorded in 88 Palestinian communities in Area C, and in Area B as well. In many places, Palestinian farmers were unable to harvest their olive trees at all this year.

In addition to the violent incidents, Yesh Din reports that this year, formal restrictions imposed on the harvest by Israeli authorities have increased. The military blocked the harvest altogether in large areas by issuing closed military zone orders for farmland and denying landowners’ access to it for prolonged periods, including before the harvest. Denial of access throughout the year, especially during a drought, as occurred last year, prevents irrigation and care for the trees, which contributes to serious damage to the yield and to the livelihood of the farmers and their families.

In areas where Palestinian farmers are required to obtain permission and coordinate access to their land for the harvest with the military, the military provided access dates late into the season and for very short periods of time, sometimes only one or two days, leaving farmers unable to complete the harvest. Assigning dates at a late stage in the harvest season impacted the quality of the olives and the oil produced from them. Meanwhile, in other cases, restrictions on Palestinians’ access left settlers from nearby outposts free to steal olives. In practice, the so-called coordination system created by the military to protect Palestinians from settler violence and enable a safe harvest has become an effective tool for preventing it, harming farmers’ livelihoods and their property rights.

Haqel has also documented cases in which the military removed farmers from their groves even in areas where no closure order was in force and no approval was required, by presenting an ad-hoc demand for approval. This conduct contradicts the military’s statements that it aims to protect harvesters and that harvesters were not forcibly removed.

Although violence and tree destruction are especially severe during the harvest, it is important to note that farmers are attacked and olive trees and saplings are uprooted or damaged year-round. For example, the UN reports that in the first two weeks of February 2026, more than 800 olive trees and saplings were vandalized in settler attacks. Additionally, the common, unlawful practice of settlers deliberately grazing livestock in Palestinian groves also causes extensive damage to the trees.

Attacks by civilians are not the only threat to trees. Over the years, tens of thousands of trees have been uprooted in planned military operations for alleged security reasons; to clear space for roads (Hebrew) that will serve the Jewish public; to expand settlements (Hebrew); or as “design measures,” the phrase used by the GOC Central Command in August 2025 to justify the uprooting of 3,100 olive trees in response to an attempted attack, all of which are, in practice, tools for collective punishment. Orders issued by the military for so-called tactical clearing authorize the “relocation” of olive trees in a designated area, but, in practice, Palestinian farmers are not given the chance to relocate the trees. Tactical clearing is often carried out in a wider area than is specified in the order, as the State was forced to admit in response to ACRI’s petition against the tactical clearing orders issued on land belonging to the village of Ya’bad.

Damaging or felling trees, imposing restrictions on farmers’ access to their olive groves, and violent attacks violate a wide range of economic, property, and cultural rights and run counter to Israel’s obligations towards the Palestinian population in the West Bank under international law.

Further reading:

Haaretz, ‘They Behave Like an Army:’ Israeli Settlers Ramp Up Their Annual Onslaught on Palestinian Olive Growers, December 5, 2025

Yesh Din, 2025 Olive Harvest Season: Violence, denied harvest and olive tree destruction, December 22, 2025

Suppression of agriculture

The government-backed expansion of settlements and outposts and the takeover of large areas impair Palestinian farmers’ access to farmland throughout the West Bank. Military policy includes sweeping denial of access to some areas, requirements for prior coordination to access agricultural areas within a certain radius of settlements or outposts, including unauthorized outposts, or the removal of Palestinian farmers from their land under the pretext of concerns about clashes. Informal or military roadblocks are often placed on agricultural access roads, preventing the passage of farming machinery. This policy, which defies HCJ rulings on farmers’ right to free access to private agricultural land, has intensified since October 7, 2023. As a result, while Palestinian landowners are kept away, settlers and outposts often take over Palestinian farmland, cultivate the plots, and later claim ties to the land and a right to use it.

The widespread denial of Palestinian farmers’ access to their land since October 2023, whether by security forces or settlers, contributes to the unprecedented and growing economic crisis in the West Bank over the past two years. According to a 2025 UN Food and Agriculture Organization survey, 90% of agricultural families in the West Bank have lost income due to a decline in agricultural output, with violence, restricted access to water sources, and movement restrictions acting as major factors undermining their ability to engage in farming and make a living from crops or livestock. In addition to the economic impact, these developments undermine food security throughout the West Bank. The decline in agricultural output is compounded by the many movement restrictions imposed across the West Bank. Additionally, as food production has fallen, transport costs have risen sharply, resulting in a significant increase in food prices.