Olive Harvest Under Threat: West Bank Farmers Face Attacks and Barriers to Their Land

The experts described the harvest as a time that should bring safety and dignity, expressing alarm at the violence, destruction and restrictions farmers continue to experience.

Palestinian farmers entering the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank face threats that reach into their family incomes, food supplies and cultural traditions, UN experts have warned, calling on Israel to protect them from attacks and guarantee safe access to their land.

For thousands of families, olive growing provides food and a livelihood through trees that can take years to mature and sustain several generations, making the loss of a grove far more damaging than the loss of one season's crop. The experts described the harvest as a time that should bring safety and dignity, expressing alarm at the violence, destruction and restrictions farmers continue to experience.

Their warning concerns the survival of local food systems and Palestinian communities' food sovereignty, including their ability to maintain agricultural practices rooted in their own land. Destroyed trees and inaccessible fields undermine the right to food, cultural rights and ways of life that families have passed down through generations.

Attacks and removal orders threaten the harvest

During the 2025 olive harvest, 178 settler attacks linked to harvesting were documented across 88 Palestinian towns and villages in the occupied West Bank, the largest number of affected locations recorded since 2020. More than 6,000 trees and saplings were vandalised, nearly twice the number recorded in 2024 and the highest total in six years.

Orders issued by Israeli military authorities in September 2026 have raised fresh concerns over approximately 339,000 square metres, or 84 acres, of Palestinian agricultural land in the northern and central West Bank. The areas include olive groves in Jenin, Qabatiya and Beit Rima, with provisions permitting trees to be uprooted and extremely short deadlines for landowners to remove vegetation and submit objections.

The experts repeated concerns about violence, intimidation and restrictions imposed by Israeli forces on farmers, citing reports of uprooted olive groves in several areas. These included reports of Israeli military bulldozers clearing groves near Ramallah shortly before the harvest, adding to fears about whether families would be able to gather their olives.

Permit restrictions deepen pressure on food and income

Access to some agricultural areas depends on a system of "prior coordination" permits, which Israeli authorities increasingly revoke or fail to issue, according to the experts. They warned that these restrictions could make conditions worse during a season when farmers need access to their groves to secure food and earnings.

A military policy change this year prevents Palestinians from obtaining permits or harvesting olives on land Israel classifies as "State land", including plots containing trees that Palestinian farmers have traditionally harvested for generations. The change threatens access to groves that have supported families across successive harvests.

Food security across the occupied West Bank is already under severe pressure from intensifying settler attacks that have displaced mainly Bedouin and herding communities. Israel's continued withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues has sharply eroded household incomes, leaving families facing financial hardship alongside the threats to agricultural livelihoods.

Experts call for protection and international pressure

The experts urged Israel to ensure its forces protect Palestinian farmers from settler attacks, refrain from interfering with their access to land and meet its obligations under international law. Their appeal places farmers' immediate safety alongside the need to preserve the trees, land and agricultural practices on which communities depend.

They said Israel is legally obliged to end its occupation of Palestinian land, immediately cease new settlement activities, evacuate settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory and provide full reparation for damage caused by its violations. That includes returning land and allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.

The international community, particularly states with power and influence, must exert maximum pressure to protect Palestinian civilians and halt and reverse rapidly expanding policies and practices of annexation, the experts said. They called for accountability for decades of violations of Palestinian rights under international law.