Israeli bulldozers smash Palestinian olive trees before annual harvest

Palestinian villagers wailed over the mangled remains of their olive trees on Wednesday after Israel’s ‌military uprooted them with bulldozers, days before the annual olive harvest, normally a source of joy for Palestinians ​in the occupied West Bank.Abd Alfattah Tamimi, who owns an olive grove on village land near Ramallah city, watched as a military bulldozer smashed the top of one of his trees and then tore ​its roots from the ground.“All our olive trees, including the newly planted ones, were uprooted. Also our neighbours’, they ⁠uprooted them all,” Tamimi said, adding that he and his neighbours own nearly ‌9 ‌acres ​of land filled with olive trees.“They left us with nothing,” he said.READ MOREIsrael’s military said it was checking Reuters’ request for comment but ⁠had not responded by Wednesday ​evening.In the past, the military has cited ​the need to clear land of olive trees to prevent security threats or ambushes on troops.Palestinian ‌human rights groups reject this, saying ​the destruction in effect deprives Palestinian farmers of income from the sale of olives and ⁠olive oil while uprooting trees ⁠they view as a ​symbol of their connection to the land.The olive harvest usually begins in the first week of October. Olives are the backbone of Palestinian agriculture, a sector that accounts for about 8 oer cent of gross domestic product and more than 60,000 jobs, according to the Palestinian Authority’s agriculture ministry.A Palestinian resident of the village of Deir Nidham, northwest of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, checks an uprooted olive tree. Photograph: Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images Palestinian activists and farmers expect this year’s harvest to be particularly volatile, amid a record surge in Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians ‌and Palestinian resources in ⁠the territory.[ (2025) Attacks on Palestinian farmers during West Bank’s olive harvest captured on videoOpens in new window ]Nather Tamimi, another landowner in the area of Deir Nizam village near Ramallah, said the loss of the trees was particularly painful in that it ‌came so close to the start of the harvest.[ Patrick Smyth: Israel’s settlement policy is designed to bury the idea of a two-state solutionOpens in new window ]“From this land, my brothers and I produce 120 ​drums of olive oil. Our neighbours produce the same,” said Tamimi, speaking ​while looking over his olive grove.“They uprooted trees everywhere, even between the houses,” he said. – Reuters[ Kevin Kilbane: The FAI will come to regret letting the Ireland-Israel match go aheadOpens in new window ]