Why are Israeli settlers destroying the Palestinian olive harvest?

The olive harvest has begun in the occupied West Bank - but with it have come frequent, persistent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their trees.

During the first half of 2025, the UN Rights Office recorded 757 assaults by settlers that resulted in injury or damage to property. Palestinians have been targeted, olive groves destroyed, and crops ruined, drawing criticism from UN human rights chiefs and condemnation globally. 

And in Gaza, which once had its own olive industry, almost all agricultural land has been destroyed by Israel’s two-year campaign, in which more than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed. 

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