Israel Blocks Activists and Farmers During West Bank Olive Harvest
Israel is issuing exclusion orders against activists and blocking agricultural roads as settler violence spikes during the West Bank olive harvest season.
Israeli authorities are restricting movement and access in the West Bank during the olive harvest season. Defense Minister Israel Katz directed officials to pursue administrative exclusion orders against foreign and Israeli activists, including members of the International Solidarity Movement and the Global Sumud Flotilla, to prevent what officials describe as provocations and confrontations.
On October 8, Israeli forces used bulldozers to install earth barriers and close agricultural roads in Deir Ballut, Salfit district. Simultaneously, settlers attacked agricultural property in Kafr al-Dik, destroying olive trees and damaging a building belonging to a local farmer.
These actions follow an appeal by Israel Ganz of the Yesha Council, who argued that the harvest should not be used as a tool for friction. However, the rights group Yesh Din reports a systemic pattern of violence, documenting 109 incidents of harassment and physical violence by settler extremists and soldiers against Palestinian growers between September 27 and October 6. Yesh Din characterizes these actions as an Israeli policy intended to inflict economic harm and seize Palestinian land.
Further tensions have emerged as police and military officials reportedly briefed residents of illegal farming outposts to coordinate against left-wing activists attempting to provide a protective presence for Palestinian harvesters.
