Israel’s olive harvest policy leaves Palestinian farmers shut out - opinion

A map of the closure orders for the olive harvest season in the West Bank was published by the Israeli Civil Administration on September 29. 

This set of orders, also known as the “coordination mechanism,” covers approximately 90,000 dunams this year – an area equivalent in size to the combined area of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ramat Gan, and Herzliya.

In these extensive areas, the military prevents Palestinian landowners from entering their privately owned land without “coordination.” What appears to be yet another routine set of orders issued by the military in territory occupied by Israel is, in fact, a draconian bureaucratic mechanism that completes the violent reality on the ground.

The olive harvest is a national and cultural Palestinian symbol, as well as a significant source of livelihood for tens of thousands of families in the West Bank who depend on it for their livelihood.

More than a decade ago, following the growing number of violent incidents by settlers against Palestinians, the military decided to establish a “coordination mechanism.”

Military coordination limits Palestinian's olive harvest

Under this mechanism, the military prevents Palestinian farmers from reaching their privately owned lands located near Israeli settlements and outposts, allowing them access only twice a year – to plow the land in the spring and to harvest the trees in the autumn.

The military is supposed to coordinate days on which soldiers will accompany the Palestinian farmers and protect them while they carry out the harvest and agricultural work.

However, past experience shows that when coordination is granted, it is usually too late (after settlers have already had time to steal a significant portion of the crop), with little advance notice, and for too short a time.

Moreover, not coincidentally, whenever and wherever Palestinians are coordinated to harvest, violent settlers also arrive at the site.

Then, instead of restricting the actions of settlers seeking to disrupt the harvesters, the military expels the Palestinian landowners and prevents them from harvesting their crops.

Thus, the “coordination mechanism” created by the military is ostensibly intended to protect Palestinians from settler violence, but in practice, it serves as a tool for preventing the olive harvest.

The total area covered this year by the closure orders that constitute the “coordination mechanism” has increased by approximately 10,000 dunams compared with last year.

This figure is not surprising. It results from the enormous proliferation of outposts in the West Bank. These outposts bring systematic violence against Palestinians with them.

The olive harvest season in the West Bank will officially begin only in mid-October. Meanwhile, since the first day of Sukkot, Yesh Din has already documented 107 incidents of settler violence related to the harvest in 73 different Palestinian villages, including attacks on Palestinian harvesters, expulsions from land, the cutting down of trees, and the theft of crops.

Settler violence, both during and beyond the harvest days, occurs under the surveillance of the military. In many of the violent incidents, soldiers were present and prevented Palestinians from reaching and harvesting their land; in other cases, they did not stop settlers who disrupted the harvest or attacked the harvesters.

For example, on Saturday morning, an armed settler summoned a military force to a Palestinian family from the village of Madama that was harvesting its private olive grove.

Armed soldiers arrived at the site, detained the family members, handcuffed them, and blindfolded them. “You are under arrest because you harvested olives,” the soldiers told them. “Tell the entire village that no one is allowed to come and harvest.”

The detainees were taken to a nearby military post and held on the ground in the open air. After more than six hours during which they remained handcuffed and blindfolded, without water or food, they were released without interrogation or charges, and without being able to harvest their trees.

This family’s plot in Madama is not even in an area requiring coordination. Still, the settler and the soldiers acted in line with the prevailing mood emanating from Jerusalem.

The combination of the “coordination mechanism,” settler violence, and the cooperation of the soldiers reveals the full picture.

In a vicious cycle, settlers use the military to drive Palestinians from their privately owned land; settlers then build an outpost on it; the military then issues an order prohibiting Palestinians from entering the area; and the cycle repeats itself – plot by plot, village by village.

The settlers serve the military, and the military serves the settlers. Both share a common goal: to prevent the harvesting and cultivation of agricultural land, economically harm Palestinians, push them off their land, and take control of it.

Not many years ago, the military boasted that it allowed Palestinians to harvest under the cynical slogan “until the last olive.” Today, the State of Israel – through its military orders, soldiers, and settlers – is effectively implementing a policy of preventing the olive harvest in the West Bank, starting with the very first olive.

The writer is the head of the research department at Yesh Din.