Israeli Army Blocks Olive Harvest, Settlers Steal Crops in Deir Jarir

The olive harvest season in the West Bank village of Deir Jarir is under threat as the Israeli military has prevented farmers from accessing their lands, while settlers have escalated crop theft. Israeli soldiers on Wednesday blocked farmers from Deir Jarir village from reaching their fields east of the village to harvest olives, citing the area as a "closed military zone." Villagers report that Israeli settlers are harassing farmers and stealing their crops, which are a primary source of income. The village, located northeast of Ramallah, faces restrictions that limit access to most of its agricultural lands, much of which is surrounded by settlements. The olive harvest began in early October.

Eid Hammad, head of the Deir Jarir Village Council, stated that the Israeli army denied farmers access to lands east of the village for the olive harvest, declaring them a "closed military zone." He noted that while the army prevents villagers from entering these lands, settlers are permitted access. Hammad described the settlers' actions as "continuous assaults and thefts," adding, "What is happening is not normal. Today we cannot help people and facilitate their access to their lands."

Deir Jarir has approximately 33,000 dunams of land, but residents can only access about 4,000 dunams within the village's vicinity. The remaining 29,000 dunams are located near settlements or are subject to confiscation and restrictions. Hammad characterized the situation as "difficult and tragic" due to the movement restrictions on farmers and the prevention of harvesting.

Farmer Abd al-Karim Ajaj, who has been denied access to his land for four years, owns over 30 dunams of olive trees. He reported that settlers uprooted 36 of his olive trees last year, exacerbating his financial losses. Ajaj stated, "I used to produce about 100 tins of olive oil annually, but today I can barely produce 7 tins because I cannot access the area where my trees are." He accused the Israeli army of assisting settlers while his olive crop is being stolen, lamenting, "The land is the basis of our life... you see your land in front of you, but the army and settlers prevent you from reaching it."

Restrictions also extended to solidarity activists, as the Israeli army set up checkpoints at the village entrances and prevented supporters from reaching Deir Jarir, despite a call for a volunteer day to assist with the olive harvest. These measures coincide with a rise in settler attacks on Palestinian farmers and their lands during the olive season, including assaults, crop theft, and tree destruction.

In a related development, Israeli Rabbi Dov Lior, a prominent religious authority for settlers, published a ruling reportedly permitting the seizure of olive crops from Palestinian lands. Lior allegedly claimed Palestinians do not own the land and that harvesting by settlers is permissible due to alleged "security risks" near settlements. This ruling emerges amidst escalating settler violence during the olive harvest season.