Olive season under attack.. Targeting farmers, burning trees, and stealing crops in the West Bank

With the start of the olive harvest season in the West Bank, attacks by settlers and occupation forces on Palestinian farmers are escalating, including the killing of a farmer, burning and uprooting trees, stealing crops, and preventing access to land, within a broader escalation.

Attacks by settlers and Israeli occupation forces on Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank continue to escalate as the olive harvest season begins. The season began with the killing of Palestinian Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazari (44 years old) from the town of Burqa northwest of Nablus on October 7, during an attack targeting olive pickers. The Commission of Resistance to the Wall and Settlements documented 19 attacks carried out by settlers in various areas of the West Bank, including assaults on farmers, burning and uprooting trees, and stealing crops and livestock. In the village of Deir Ibzi' west of Ramallah, settlers attacked farmers and stole their crop, and a foreign solidarity activist was injured. In Qusra, more than 50 olive trees were uprooted. In Bireen east of Hebron, an elderly woman (79 years old) was injured after being attacked by a dog released by settlers. These attacks come within a broader escalation; the Commission reported 2,051 attacks in September, during which 14,600 trees (9,334 olive trees) were damaged, and 254 structures including 133 agricultural ones were demolished. Olives and their derivatives are a primary source of income for thousands of Palestinian families.