There is an increase in attacks by Israelis who usurp Palestinian lands during the harvest season, which starts around the beginning of October and continues until the end of November in Palestinian lands and is an important source of income for the people of the region.
Trees, which are the symbol of Palestinians' commitment to the land and this heritage passed down from generation to generation, are particularly targeted by Israel.
In order to break the Palestinians' bond with the land and break their resistance, the Israelis not only cut down trees but also prevent Palestinians from reaching their lands.
Israelis increase harvest season attacks
Emir Davud, official of the documentation unit of the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, also said that Israel is trying to seize Palestinians' lands by preventing the olive harvest.
David, the olive tree; He stated that it carries a symbolic and cultural value due to its direct connection with the land and that it is one of the key elements that enable the Palestinians living in the "C" region, especially in the West Bank, to resist economically.
More than 50 thousand trees have been attacked since 2025
Speaking about the violations committed by Israeli forces and usurper Israelis by killing Palestinians, attacking and damaging their movable and immovable properties, plowing agricultural lands and preventing farmers from reaching their fields, Davud said:
"Attacks on trees do not only happen by uprooting or damaging them. Farmers are also prevented from going to their olive groves. This aims to seize more land in the occupied lands and expand colonization.
More than 50 thousand olive trees have been attacked since 2025. This is a record number. What really matters is the decisions made regarding the removal of trees rather than direct attacks. Since the beginning of 2026, 55 such decisions have been made. (Each decision targets specific regions, which means cutting down hundreds of trees.) This figure is even more than the total of 48 decisions taken throughout 2025.”
Explaining that the decisions mostly cover areas with olive trees, Davud informed that similar decisions were taken regarding the towns of Beyt Rima and Deyr Nizam, located in the northwest of Ramallah.
Harvest season attacks in 3D
Stating that the Israeli administration and the usurper Israelis prevent Palestinians from going to the olive groves by blocking the roads or through crossing points, Davud stated that the surface area of the lands to which access is blocked in this way throughout the West Bank exceeds 1 million 100 thousand decares.
Davud emphasized that all these practices of Israel, and especially the attacks that increase during the harvest season, have three dimensions: "symbolic and cultural, economic (breaking resistance) and seizing lands".
"Olive trees have been the first line of defense against land grabs throughout history." Davud pointed out that farmers are prevented from going to their lands and trees are left neglected, paving the way for these areas to be shown as "unclaimed lands" and their property confiscated in the future.
Harvest season is one of the most important conflict areas in the West Bank
Davud stated that the developments in the region and the Gaza war gave Israel the freedom to act as it wishes on the field.
Noting that the harvest season cannot be considered separately from the struggle for land, Davud said, "Preventing farmers from accessing their lands does not mean the loss of a season, but also undermines the people's power to stay on their lands and earn a living." he said.
