olive trees

Palestinians watch smoke rising after a vehicle is set on fire by Israeli settlers during an attack on the first day of the olive harvest in the West Bank village of Beita, October 10 2025. (Avishay Mohar/Activestills)

Settler terror devastates West Bank olive harvest

Israeli military restrictions and over 150 settler attacks in the past two weeks have prevented many Palestinians from harvesting this year’s crop.

By Oren Ziv and Basel Adra October 24, 2025

Bulldozers operated by Israeli settlers and soldiers uproot olive trees near the village of Al-Mughayyir, in the occupied West Bank, August 23, 2025. (Avishay Mohar/Activestills)

Israeli army, settlers unite in collective punishment of Al-Mughayyir

The siege of the West Bank village and destruction of its olive groves were a joint exercise in intimidation and re-engineering of Palestinian space.

By Oren Ziv and Shatha Yaish August 27, 2025

Palestinians collect olives from a tree during the annual harvest season, in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, September 21, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

For Gaza’s olive farmers, the war has left little to salvage

Facing bombardment and water shortages, Palestinian farmers are clinging on to a livelihood that has long symbolized and been a source of resilience.

By Taghreed Ali and Ibtisam Mahdi November 19, 2024

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Israeli soldiers provoke Palestinian farmers and volunteers while planting olive trees and tiling soil to protest the recent Israeli military order that would confiscate about three Dunams of Palestinian private lands for 'security reasons' for the nearby settlement of Yitzhar, Asira Al-Qibliya village, near Nablus, West Bank, January 26, 2017. (Ahmad al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Palestinians plant trees to defy Israeli land confiscation

Palestinian farmers and volunteers plant olive trees to protest an Israeli military order to confiscate Palestinian land for one of the most extreme settlements in the West Bank. Photos and text by Ahmad al-Bazz / Activestills.org The Israeli army on Thursday tried to prevent some 50 Palestinian farmers and volunteers from planting olive trees and tilling…

By Activestills January 26, 2017

Palestinians watch as Israeli bulldozers uproot their olive trees in order to pave a settler-only road, Izbat Tabib, West Bank, January 16, 2017. (Keren/Manor/

PHOTOS: How the state builds a road for West Bank settlers

Israeli authorities continue to uproot Palestinian-owned olive trees in order to build a road for nearby settlers. Photos by Keren Manor / Activestills, text by Yael Marom Israeli authorities uprooted dozens of olive trees in order to build a settler road near the West Bank city of Qalqilya on Monday morning. The Israeli army declared the area…

By Activestills January 16, 2017

Riyad Abu Hanieh sits near one of his olive trees that was uprooted for the sake of building a settler-only road, near Qalqilya, West Bank, January 8, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Israeli authorities uproot olive trees to build settler-only road

The Nabi Elias bypass road, which will serve Israeli settlers, requires the confiscation of 25 acres of Palestinian land. Photos and text by Keren Manor / Activestills.org Civil Administration contractors accompanied by Israeli soldiers uprooted around 250 Palestinian-owned olive trees Sunday near the West Bank city of Qalqilya, as part of a larger plan to build a…

By Activestills January 8, 2017

A girl from the West Bank town of Awarta harvests her family's olives in the midst of frequent patrols by the Israeli military, October 13, 2012. Because the Israeli settlement Itamar lies on a neaby hilltop, the residents of Awarta are forced to coordinate permission to harvest their olives from Israeli authorities.

Settler violence and IDF collusion deny Palestinians the fruits of their harvest

Stolen fruit, destroyed trees and harassment by the army and settlers wreak havoc with the yearly olive harvest, an essential source of subsistence for West Bank Palestinians. By Yossi Gurvitz, for Yesh Din “The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up” (Deuteronomy 28:33) “I’ve been…

By +972 Magazine December 9, 2016

An Israeli police officer inspects damage done Palestinian-owned olive trees by suspected Israeli settlers, October 20, 2013. (File photo by Activestills.org)

How to bungle an investigation into settler violence

A Palestinian man identifies the Israeli settlers who cut down his olive trees. Police close the case anyway, claiming they have no idea who the perpetrator is — without ever questioning the suspects. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz I am considering demanding a refund from Israeli Treasury for the portion of my taxes…

By +972 Magazine October 25, 2015

WATCH: Jewish extremist tries to stab ‘rabbi for human rights’

Volunteers and activists were accompanying Palestinian olive harvesters in the West Bank to help protect them from settler attacks. A right-wing Jewish extremist threw stones at and attempted to stab president of Rabbis for Human Rights, Arik Asherman, following an olive harvest coordinated with the Israeli army on Friday. Nobody was significantly injured in the…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man October 23, 2015

Father Paolo from Beit Jala's Catholic church carries a piece of a checkpoint, during a Muslim-Christian protest against the planned route of the separation barrier, Beit Jala, West Bank, August 23, 2015. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

WATCH: Christian, Muslim Palestinians protest separation wall route

Days after the army uprooted Palestinian-owned olive trees to pave the route of the separation barrier in Beit Jala, Christians and Muslims from the town hold a joint protest to try and put a stop to the plan. By Oren Ziv Hundreds of Muslim and Christian Palestinians protested Sunday morning in the West Bank town…

By Activestills August 23, 2015

An Israeli bulldozer carries uprooted olive trees to make way for Israel's separation wall, in the West Bank town of Beit Jala near the Jewish settlement of Gilo and adjacent to the biblical Palestinian town of Bethlehem, August 20, 2015. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

WATCH: Dozens of Palestinian-owned trees uprooted to build separation wall

Dozens of Palestinian-owned olive trees uprooted to complete separation wall that will eventually fully encircle the Bethlehem area. Text and photos by Oren Ziv / Activestills.org The Israeli Defense Ministry renewed its efforts to build a section of the separation wall in the Bethlehem area this week, sending bulldozers and Border Policemen to uproot dozens…

By Activestills August 21, 2015

Planting olive saplings in Kfar Yassuf, February 4, 2015. (Photo: Cindy Katz/RHR)

Knesset candidates plant olive trees with Palestinian farmers

Palestinian activists build new protest camp near Jerusalem to protest displacement of West Bank Bedouin, settlement expansion; the Israeli army dismantles the camp. Over 100 Israeli activists, among them four Knesset candidates in the upcoming elections, joined Palestinian farmers in from the West Bank village of Kfar Yassuf to plant olive saplings to mark the…

By Haggai Matar February 5, 2015

Israeli soldiers and Palestinian villagers inspect damage to olive trees in the south Hebron hills, January 9, 2015. (Photo by Lanser Nawajeh/B'Tselem)

Dozens of olive trees felled in suspected settler violence

Two incidents in the West Bank leave upwards of 60 olive trees severely damaged, according to human rights organizations. Dozens of Palestinian-owned mature olive trees were felled in a suspected settler attack Saturday night in the West Bank, according to two Israeli human rights organizations. Villagers discovered the vandalized trees on lands belonging to the…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 11, 2015