Israeli settlers increase attacks, steal Palestinians’ olive harvests
Rights monitors document widespread crop theft and physical assaults as Israeli military restrictions leave Palestinian farmers exposed and vulnerable
LUBBAN AL-GHARBI, Occupied West Bank (MNTV) — Palestinian farmers are facing intensifying attacks, crop theft and restricted access to their land during this year’s olive harvest, as Israeli settlers increasingly target groves that Palestinian families have cultivated for generations.
Israeli rights group Yesh Din recorded 125 physical attacks against Palestinian olive harvesters and 168 incidents of crop theft during the first 24 days of the harvest season.
Israeli military forces were present in at least one-quarter of the reported incidents, underscoring concerns over the grave complicity to suppress Palestinian farmers along with settlers.
Ahmed Salem, a Palestinian farmer from Lubban al-Gharbi, said settlers struck his olive trees with sticks, collected the olives and transported them to a nearby Israeli settler outpost for processing. He said he feared being attacked if he attempted to intervene.
The robberies have taken place alongside growing restrictions on Palestinian access to agricultural land near settlements and outposts.
Ziv Stahl, executive director of Yesh Din, said Palestinians were often prevented from reaching their groves while settlers moved freely through the same areas.
The expansion of settler outposts has intensified pressure on Palestinian communities.
Hundreds of acres around Salem’s village, including olive groves, were fenced off and seized between 2023 and 2026 by Avichai Farm, a nearby Israeli settler outpost.
Settlers have also promoted the harvesting of olives from Palestinian land through social media messages.
One message encouraged the production of olive oil while calling for strengthening Zionist control over the land and describing the situation as a struggle against an enemy.
The olive press at the outpost advertises commercial products, while sources reported that the organization supporting such farms receives significant financial assistance from the Israeli government.
Palestinian farmers say the robberies are inseparable from a broader pattern of dispossession.
Samer Ben Shamsi, who said settlers had previously shot him, beaten him, and destroyed his possessions, described the latest attacks as evidence that perpetrators believed they could act without consequences.
Israeli human rights advocates have condemned the violence. Stahl characterized it as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing intended to facilitate annexation of the occupied West Bank without its Palestinian population.
Palestinian authorities have reported three deaths during this year’s harvest-related settler attacks, as well as injuries to journalists, diplomats and other civilians.
The United Nations and most countries consider Israeli settlements in occupied territory illegal under international law.
An Israeli government spokesperson disputed that Jewish harvesting of olives in the area constituted theft, while saying individuals should not take the law into their own hands.
The attacks threaten more than a seasonal source of income. Olive cultivation is deeply embedded in Palestinian family life, land ownership and cultural identity.
By restricting farmers’ access, seizing crops and allowing settler activity to continue amid repeated reports of violence, the occupation places livelihoods and long-established connections to the land under growing pressure.
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