Update on Palestinian Farmers in the West Bank

Equal Exchange Olive Oil and Medjool Dates from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC) come from small farmers in the West Bank. PARC sent us this information about what the situation has been like for farmers in the West Bank after October 7th, in 2024 and so far in 2025.

Photo left, farmers waiting to enter their olive farms behind the apartheid wall in Dayr Al-Ghusun Village, Tulkarem, in the Northern West Bank. Photo right, an example of Israeli military checkpoints; Atara checkpoint in the North of Ramallah that connects central West Bank to the Northern areas.

The Israeli Occupation uproots ancient olive trees in Madma / South Nablus

In 2024, the Israeli government restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, especially farmers, during the olive harvest season. The Israeli military prevented farmers from harvesting their olives, and Palestinians experienced recurring assaults by Israeli settlers. In addition, farmers had limited access to approximately 80,000 dunums of agricultural land that they owned (mostly planted with olive trees) that were either close to the dividing wall or near Israeli settlements.

In 2024, Israeli authorities confiscated 46,000 dunams in the West Bank, which is one of the largest land seizures in decades. There has been an increase in the expulsion of Palestinian shepherds and farmers from their lands. In spite of this, PARC was able to carry out its olive oil export activities after the 2024 olive harvest.

In the first months of 2025, there was an escalation of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Since January, Israel has been using increasing military aggression in the northern West Bank, which has resulted in the death of more than 81 Palestinians, the injury of dozens, the arrest of hundreds, and the destruction of dozens of homes and properties. The intensity of the attacks is escalating in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm and their refugee camps, as the areas are under intense military operations aimed at changing their geographical and demographic reality and constantly disrupting all aspects of Palestinian life. 

This past January, Israeli carried out 2,161 assaults against West Bank Palestinians; some of these attacks resulted in the uprooting of 960 olive trees. Israel also increased the number of military checkpoints around the West Bank to 898, therefore separating cities, villages, and refugee camps and aggravating the process of moving from one place to another. While PARC has been able to export the new harvest oil to the United States, there is concern that the obstacles, such as increased checkpoints and settler violence, will only continue into the rest of the year.