Uprooted but unbroken: ActionAid highlights settler violence faced by Palestinian olive farmers

26/11: This year has been one of the worst on record for settler violence during the olive harvest. 

Mahmoud, a 53-year-old farmer from the village of Al-Maniya, near Bethlehem, told ActionAid: “When I went to harvest my olives, I was attacked by nearly twenty settlers, some with large weapons, pistols, and they beat me with they beat me with rifles and sticks,  breaking my hand and fracturing my spine. That night, they destroyed more than a hundred of my olive and grape trees. These attacks are meant to empty our land of its farmers and force us to leave. 

“We suffer daily from settler and occupation-army attacks. How can we live under these daily attacks?! I no longer feel safe for my children and wife.” 

“The olive harvest season is the reward for your hard work, you toil all year, then reap the fruits of your labour. The worst part is being attacked on your own land during the harvest, or being prevented from reaching your olive trees, or seeing them destroyed in front of your eyes while you are powerless. 

“This is the worst part of it all. You die fifty deaths every day as you look at the olive tree you nurtured like a child, the tree for which you poured your sweat, your blood, your life, and in the end, you can’t even reach it.” 

“Despite the broken bones, the destroyed trees, and the daily attacks meant to drive us from our land, we remain steadfast. The olive tree represents our life, our hope, our past and our future. It is uprooted as we are uprooted, and yet it endures. And so do we.” 

ActionAid Palestine has supported farmers in the Bethlehem and Hebron governorates who own olive trees and groves and face movement restrictions and settler violence. Through its partnership with the YMCA’s Joint Advocacy Initiative, ActionAid supplied essential olive-picking tools; ladders and other materials, during the olive-harvest season. 

Jamil Sawalmeh, Country Director of ActionAid Palestine, commented: “Mahmoud’s story, unfortunately, is one of many. Each year, we see more and more settler attacks on farmers’ trees. Occupation is not only territorial: it also controls bodies, mobility, and futures. Every olive harvest is a stark and brutal reminder of the occupation. 

“The existence of Palestinian farmers is resilience incarnate. Nothing symbolises that more than the olive trees. At ActionAid we are proud to support farmers across the West Bank, whilst we see trees uprooted, Palestinians will remain unbroken.  

“ActionAid calls on the international community, donors, humanitarian actors, human-rights defenders, and governments, to stand in solidarity with Palestinian farmers, protect their land and livelihoods, and uphold their rights to life, dignity, and resilience. The systematic oppression of Palestinians must be addressed as part of any solution. Ignoring it is enabling it.” 

Under international law Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are unlawful and must be dismantled, with settlers removed. Palestinians continue to face daily threats: unlawful demolitions, mass arrests, gender-based violence, movement restrictions, limited access to essential services such as healthcare and livelihoods. 

ENDS