Israel Attacks West Bank Agriculture, Displacing Palestinian Farmers

Amal Slaibi, 58, cannot bear to look at the small plot that once provided a good income for her family in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, since her father became too weak to tend it 25 years ago. Her childhood memories are tied to the grapevines and peach trees on this land.

In 1984, the illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tzur was built, and its iron fence encroached on the Slaibi family's land. Last November, Israeli bulldozers arrived in the village, uprooting the grapevines. The seven-dunam (about 0.7 hectare) orchard and about 30 dunams of her uncle's land were leveled. Israeli soldiers ordered the family not to approach within 500 meters, citing the land's proximity to the illegal Karmei Tzur settlement, even though they had owned the land for generations.

“They prevented us from even passing by, then they bulldozed everything… They left us with nothing to live on,” Slaibi told Al Jazeera. The harvests in May and June once brought the 12-member family at least 10,000 shekels (about $3,300). After the trees were uprooted, they tried to compensate by picking grapes and leaves from distant land they owned, but the quality was far inferior to that of the precious orchard that was destroyed.

Since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, the Israeli military, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, has tightened restrictions on thousands of Palestinian farmers. When the Israeli authorities allow access to the land for a few hours a month, families rush to olive or grape orchards—often their sole source of income. However, a few days a year are not enough to ensure productivity.

“Once last year, they allowed us to enter the land to plow. We were very happy, I went with my elderly father, but as soon as we arrived, the settlement guards opened fire on us and we narrowly escaped death,” she recounted. “We don't even have the means to farm or plow regularly because the main source of income is gone. Even if they allow us back, we would have to spend time determining the land boundaries because everything is flat.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture recorded an unprecedented escalation in Israeli violations against the agricultural sector in the West Bank in 2025, carried out by both soldiers and settlers. Damage to greenhouses, machinery, and roads is estimated at $2.57 million, but total direct economic losses amount to over $103 million. The anti-agriculture campaign also affects supply chains, food prices, unemployment, and food security.

In the Hebron hills, Jihad Nawajah's family, from the village of Susya in Masafer Yatta, used to raise sheep until 2010, when settlers poisoned the herd, killing dozens. Losing his income, Nawajah decided to switch to beekeeping. In 2011, he started with three hives; five years later, the farm expanded to 120 hives, producing quality honey thanks to the unique flora of Masafer Yatta. In 2016, settlers returned and destroyed 100 hives, causing about 200,000 shekels ($67,000) in damage. “In 2025, they tried to burn some hives, but I drove them away. We are in danger at every moment, we cannot go farther than 50 meters,” Nawajah said.

He moved the hives closer to his home to prevent attacks. Beekeeping still provides income, though not as much as before. “I call on all people in Masafer Yatta to keep bees because settlers find it harder to steal hives and access them like livestock. In this way, we can maintain our presence and hold onto the land,” he said. The beekeeping sector in the West Bank continues to be regularly attacked, causing direct losses of about $154,000.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said the poverty rate in the West Bank rose from 12% before October 2023 to 28% by the end of 2026. About 78% of households reported reduced income, and over 60% could not cover monthly expenses. The number of households with inadequate food consumption nearly tripled, from 5% (June 2022) to 14% (end of 2025). The unemployment rate reached 30% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the United Nations.

Economist Nasr Abdel Karim said settler attacks are a key factor in income loss. “More than 20 percent of their activity has declined because of these circumstances. The main factor affecting the Palestinian economy is the Israeli occupation in its various forms, with settler behavior being the most aggressive,” he said. The Palestinian national economy has shrunk by 25 percent over the past two years, losing a quarter of its capacity, according to the United Nations.