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Palestinians to Harvest Olives But They're Wary of Settlers, Here's Why

© Photo : Makkeev Dmitriy/Crimean Federal UniversityRussian olive oil from olives of Crimean Federal University
Russian olive oil from olives of Crimean Federal University - Sputnik International, 1920, 24.09.2021
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Mohammed al-Khatib has set up an initiative that aims to protect Palestinian farmers while they hand-pick olives. The group, made up of locals and foreigners, also makes sure that their trees are not burned down or uprooted.
Olive trees have always been an integral part of Palestinians' livelihoods. Generating an estimated income of $800-900 million per annum, they make up some 20 to 25 percent of the total economy, employing tens of thousands of people.

Threat to Farmers

Their harvest season typically lasts from August until November and Mohammed al-Khatib, a Palestinian activist who volunteers to collect olives together with local farmers, says the collection process continues to pose a threat to Palestinians.

"Every year, Jewish settlers are uprooting olive trees belonging to the Palestinians. I think they are doing so to expel us from our land so that they can build another settlement here. It is an ideology that aims to end our existence in the West Bank".

These complaints are nothing new. In the past Palestinian NGOs have repeatedly said that Jewish settlers were causing irreparable damage to their farms and harvests.
Last year, a report indicated that more than 8,400 olive trees were destroyed by settlers' activities, leading to $47 million in damage.
Between 2010 and 2020 Jewish radicals uprooted, burned down, or chemically poisoned over 100,000 such trees.

Protecting Palestinian Trees

This is why al-Khatib decided he could not sit idly by, establishing Faz3a, an initiative that unites 100 individuals, locals and foreigners alike, and that strives to protect farmers during their olive harvesting process.
"I came up with the idea after I realised that our farmers are exposed to those attacks, whereas the forces of the Palestinian Authority can do nothing to protect them".
The situation in the West Bank is complex. Many olive trees grow in Area C that under the Oslo Accords II of 1995 falls under full Israeli control.
Today, the area is home to some 400,000 Jewish settlers, who believe it is their land and who are heavily protected by Israel's security forces.
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The area also houses 300,000 Palestinians, who reside here in multiple settlements and outposts. They believe that the land is theirs, especially because the 1995 agreements stipulated that Area C would eventually be given to them when they establish their own independent state.
Those Palestinians have little protection because the PA is not allowed in. On the other hand, the IDF, who controls the area, has repeatedly turned a blind eye to the illegal activity of the Jewish settlers there.

"Very often, our farmers have nobody to turn to, and some Jewish radicals use that to scare the Palestinians", said the activist.

"That's why what we do is we divide our volunteers into two groups. One of them protects the farmers from the assaults of Jewish settlers. The other -- helps the Palestinians to collect their olives", he added.
There are also volunteers who patrol the fields and make sure that trees belonging to the Palestinians are not poisoned or burned.
Al-Khatib says that his group is unarmed and its purpose is not to clash with Israelis but rather to protect farmers, "whose only wish is to make a living".
Nevertheless, clashes do happen but none of them, says the activist, have resulted in bloodshed.
"Now the situation has become more acute because the number of Jewish settlers that attack us has gone up, but this is not going to discourage me. Not when we receive so much positive feedback from farmers, and so many requests from ordinary Palestinians, who would like to join our initiative".
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