Each October, and November, Palestinians return to their lands for the annual olive harvest, a vital season that plays a central role in their economic, cultural, and agricultural life, serving as a key source of income for many families. Over 100,000 families are believed to depend on the olive harvest season as a source of income.
Nonetheless, since Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in 1967, the harvest season has been marked each year by intimidation from Israeli military and settler violence, including physical attacks, the destruction of trees, and access restrictions that prevent farmers from reaching their olive trees.
According to UNRWA, October 2025 is to be the most violent month since the agency began recording Israeli settler violence in 2013.
Despite this, Palestinians continue to harvest and plant olives, turning the season into an act of defiance and belonging.
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#OliveHarvest #Palestine #OliveSeason #EndOccupation #Resilience
Sources:
– https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/humanitarian-situation-update-242-west-bank
– https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165587#:~:text=Just%201.5%20per%20cent%20of%20Gaza’s%20agricultural%20land%20remains%20accessible%20and%20undamaged,-6%20August%202025&text=UN%20data%20published%20on%20Wednesday,than%20two%20million%20people%20there.
– https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-194-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem
– https://mondoweiss.net/2025/08/israel-wanted-to-punish-a-palestinian-village-so-it-destroyed-10000-of-its-olive-trees/
– https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/1/israeli-attacks-on-olive-harvest-threaten-palestinian-way-of-life-un
