TULKARM, October 8, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli colonists on Wednesday stole the olive harvest and equipment of the farmers of Shufa village, southeast of the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, according to a farmer.
Issam Abu Ilayya told WAFA that three colonists driving quad bikes broke into the the villagers’ lands in the southwestern part of the village, forced olive harvesters to leave, and seized their olive harvest, tools, and mobile phones.
He added that the assailants came from a pastoral colonial outpost established just 500 meters away from the village.
He noted that the colonists of this outpost have been closely monitoring the villagers, encroaching upon their olive groves, and expelling them, with such attacks becoming recurrent in an attempt to take over more land to make room for colonial settlement expansion.
With more than 12 million olive trees planted across 45% of the West Bank’s agricultural land, the olive harvest constitutes one of the biggest sources of economic sustainability for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to UN OCHA, the olive oil industry supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 families and accounts for a quarter of the gross agricultural income of the occupied territories.
But, as local NGO MIFTAH notes, “olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians. They are not just like any other trees, they are symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.”
“Because the trees are drought-resistant and grow under poor soil conditions, they represent Palestinian resistance and resilience. The fact that olive trees live and bear fruit for thousands of years is parallel to Palestinian history and continuity on the land.”
Colonists’ violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
Colonists’ violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, and attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.
Approximately 1 million Israeli colonists are living in colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.
K.F.
