October 10, 2026

🫒 Imagine waiting an entire year to harvest your olives, only for an armed Israeli settler to arrive, drive you off land inherited from your father and grandfather, and steal your harvest before your eyes — while Israeli soldiers stand by to protect him!

This is not a scene from a movie. It is the reality facing thousands of Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank.

Since the beginning of the 2026 olive harvest season, reports of assaults, intimidation, and crop theft have continued to emerge. Palestinian farmers are being forced to risk their lives simply to collect the fruit from their own trees.

What is Happening Around Ramallah?

▪️ Burqa: Israeli settlers have reportedly entered Palestinian agricultural lands in the Khallat Ali area, assaulted farmers, forced them to leave, and threatened them against returning to complete their harvest.

▪️ Deir Dibwan: Field reports describe settler harassment and provocations against Palestinians in the Sheikh Ammar area, amid repeated attacks on agricultural land.

▪️ Kafr Ni’ma: Israeli soldiers themselves have reportedly prevented Palestinian farmers from entering their land to harvest olives, ordering them to leave.

▪️ Al-Mughayyir: Settlers have repeatedly attacked Palestinian homes and agricultural properties, with residents confronting the attackers. Recent reports also describe property being set on fire, a vehicle being seized, and olive trees being damaged.

But the True Scale of This Crisis is Revealed by the Numbers, Not Just the Images.

Israeli settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, according to United Nations documentation:

• 2023: More than 1,200 documented attacks.

• 2024: Approximately 1,400 attacks.

• 2025: More than 1,700 attacks — averaging nearly five attacks every day.

• 2026: More than 1,600 attacks recorded by September 14 alone, affecting 275 Palestinian communities.

That is an average of approximately 6.7 attacks every day — one attack every three and a half hours!

Even more alarming, more than 2,600 Palestinians were displaced during 2026 up to mid-September, as a result of settler violence and associated restrictions.

The War Against the Olive Tree Itself is Equally Shocking.

During the 2025 harvest season, the United Nations documented approximately 185 olive-harvest-related settler attacks in October and November, alongside damage to more than 6,000 trees and saplings.

In August 2026 alone, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported that attacks on agricultural vegetation affected 21,508 trees, including 19,375 olive trees.

And on Friday, October 9, the commission reported 19 settler attacks in a single day, involving assaults on farmers, theft of crops, property fires, and the uprooting of more than 50 olive trees in Qusra, south of Nablus.

These are not isolated incidents or ordinary disputes between neighbors. They represent a recurring pattern of violence, displacement, and the systematic denial of Palestinian access to their own land.

And the Victims are Not Just Numbers.

There are families who have lost their primary source of income.

Children who have witnessed their fathers being assaulted.

Elderly farmers who can no longer reach olive trees they planted decades ago.

According to UN estimates, approximately 80,000–100,000 Palestinian families depend either entirely or partially on olives and olive oil for their livelihoods.

Every uprooted tree represents years of lost work.

Every stolen harvest can mean another family entering winter without an income.