Like many Palestinian farmers, he is experiencing increased restrictions from Israeli forces and settlers, making the olive harvest season from September to November a period of uncertainty and difficulty.
Recently, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has aided olive farmers and cooperatives by improving access to land and water resources, implementing sustainable practices like intercropping, and enhancing food production and income through efficient natural resource use.
The olive harvest is a crucial livelihood source for many families and an essential part of Palestinian heritage.
However, attacks on the harvest threaten this heritage and disrupt Palestinian farmers’ work and lifestyle, with settler attacks reaching unprecedented levels in the past two decades, according to the UN aid office, OCHA.
‘Unprecedented’ risks
“As the West Bank prepares for the olive harvest, farmers clearly state: this year’s season is marked by uncertainty, and livelihoods face unprecedented risk,” said Ciro Fiorillo, FAO’s Head of Office in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The mix of state policies and settler violence has blocked Palestinians from accessing thousands of dunums of farmland and pasture, each dunum measuring 1,000 square meters.
These restrictions have harmed the local economy and displaced thousands of Palestinian herders and farmers under conditions that may equate to forcible transfer, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
Olives and olive oil production in the West Bank are essential to Palestinian culture.
“Our livelihoods have been cut off. Olive crops are the main income source for farmers,” a Palestinian farmer from Kufr Qaddum village, told UN News.
Land access denied
“For two years now, we have been denied access to our lands,” Yousef, a Palestinian farmer from Kufr Qaddum, told UN News. All land in the village’s northern area has been sealed with an iron gate following the latest Iran-Israel escalation.
Yousef’s family owns over 300 dunums of land, mostly olive trees, near the Israeli Kedumim settlement in Qalqiliya Governorate.
Since Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel, they haven’t accessed their land, even during the harvest season.
“These lands cover four to five thousand dunams. We’ve been denied access,” Yousef said, noting that “this issue affected all farmers throughout the West Bank.”
Mohammed, a Palestinian farmer from Kifl Harris, near the Israeli Ariel settlement in Salfit Governorate, has lost access to over 3,000 dunums of olive groves within the settlement boundary. This cut Kifl Harris’s farmers off from tending and harvesting their groves.
“The olive season is our main economic lifeline for farmers and employees in both public and private sectors,” Mohammed told UN News, adding that Palestinian farmers weren’t given reasons for the denied access.
“After settlers installed a caravan on our family’s land, access to over 200 dunums of agricultural land, much of it with olive trees, was restricted,” Ahmed, a farmer from Khalet Al Luza, told OCHA.
Harassment from settlers
“We have faced all kinds of harassment from settlers and the [Israeli] army,” Yousef from Kufr Qaddum shared.
In a July 2024 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that Israel’s ongoing presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and must end “as rapidly as possible.”
Comments
7 responses to “‘Our livelihoods have been cut off,’ say West Bank farmers before olive harvest”
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Funny how the olive oil is flowing from the West Bank while the farmers are stuck in a pickle. 🍈 Who knew harvesting olives would require more paperwork than running for office?
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Looks like the West Bank’s olive harvest is turning into a real-life version of a tragicomedy—who knew that trying to pick olives could come with a side of state-sanctioned access denial? 🍈🤷♂️
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Seems like olive farming in the West Bank has turned into a thrilling game of “hide and seek” with settlers and soldiers. 🍈 Who knew harvesting could come with such *excitement*?
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Olive harvest season, eh? Can’t wait to see how “restricted access” turns into “gourmet olive oil” on the menu—who knew farming could be such a luxury sport? 🍈🙃
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Olive harvest season, eh? Nothing like a bit of settler ‘hospitality’ to spice up the annual fruit picking! 🍈 Just what every farmer dreams of—extra ‘security’ measures to keep them off their own land! 😏
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Clearly, nothing says “harvest season” like being locked out of your own olive groves! 🍈 It’s almost like they’re trying to turn the whole thing into an extreme sport, eh?
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Oh, isn’t it just charming how the olive harvest comes with a side of “unprecedented risk”? 🍈 Because nothing says ‘cultural heritage’ quite like being denied access to your own land by someone who thinks they’re auditioning for a reality show.
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