Full Breakdown
Israeli Bulldozers Target Olive Groves Near Ramallah Ahead of Harvest
By Drooid · · How we work
Event Overview
On September 23, Israeli military bulldozers are slated to uproot olive trees in the village of Deir Nizam, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, just days before the annual olive harvest that normally begins in the first week of October. Residents reported that the demolition began on a Monday and continued the following day, affecting rows of mature and newly-planted trees across roughly nine acres of privately owned groves.
Economic Significance
Olive cultivation is a cornerstone of Palestinian agriculture, accounting for about 8 % of the territory’s GDP and providing more than 60,000 jobs, according to the Palestinian Authority’s agriculture ministry. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission estimated that attacks on agricultural land in August destroyed 21,508 trees, including 19,375 olive trees. The same body projected this year’s olive production at 21,000 tonnes, while local demand is roughly 15,000 tonnes. Individual farmers such as Abd Alfattah Tamimi and his brother Nather claim their family produces about 120 drums of olive oil annually, a figure matched by neighboring growers.
Palestinian Response and Criticism
Palestinian human-rights groups reject the military’s justification that tree removal is needed to prevent security threats or ambushes, arguing that the action deprives farmers of income and severs a cultural link to the land. Activists warn that the timing intensifies the economic impact, as the harvest period approaches.
Israeli Military Response
The Israeli military has not provided a substantive comment, stating only that it is checking Reuters’ request for comment.
Verbatim Quotes
- “All our olive trees, including the newly planted ones, were uprooted. Also our neighbours’, they uprooted them all,” — Abd Alfattah Tamimi, another landowner in the area of Deir Nizam village near Ramallah
- “From this land, my brothers and I produce 120 drums of olive oil. Our neighbours produce the same,” — Abd Alfattah Tamimi, another landowner in the area of Deir Nizam village near Ramallah