Palestinian farmer Abdellatif Bazzari stands among his half-harvested olive trees with a black eye and a bandage on his face. He was injured during a raid by Israeli settlers that also killed his cousin. Now he is too afraid to finish the harvest without army protection.
Like many farmers in the occupied West Bank, Bazzari started picking olives earlier than usual this year. He hoped to save his crop and avoid further attacks. With Israeli elections scheduled for 27 October, some farmers believe the violence may increase as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to strengthen support from his right-wing base.
“I think the prime minister of Israel is worried about the results of elections and he doesn’t want to take any action against the settlers as he hopes to receive their votes,” Bazzari told AFP. “If he loses, things will get better.”
Olives are both an economic lifeline and a powerful symbol for Palestinians. They make up around 15 percent of the West Bank’s agricultural GDP. The harvest season is traditionally a time when families and neighbours gather in the fields to pick the fruit by hand.
On 7 October, a group of 15 to 20 settlers entered the field near the village of Burqa where Bazzari and his family were working. They beat the farmers before the army arrived. Bazzari said his cousin Ali was shot and bled to death under an olive tree. The Israeli military said troops responded after reports of rocks being thrown at a settler and that a commander neutralised a person running toward him with a suspicious object.
Farmers say the danger zones have grown in recent years as settlements expanded. Bazzari claimed settlers stole ladders, rakes and tarps during the raid and told Palestinians to stay inside their villages and not go out to farm.
Palestinian officials reported 300 incidents involving settlers and olive groves this autumn even before the official harvest began. Israeli rights group Yesh Din recorded 100 cases of theft, including settlers taking harvested olives or picking them from Palestinian land. The group said a quarter of the incidents happened while Israeli forces were present.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank in communities considered illegal under international law. Settler attacks against Palestinians, including beatings, vandalism and arson, averaged six a day in the first half of the year according to United Nations figures.
