Hamra, West Bank
—
Umm Shukri inspects each olive tree, as she has done every year for 10 years. However, the harvest time for these olives is different. Almost all of her trees are damaged. Their branches are bare and fragile.
Examining each of her limbs, she feels exhausted with sadness.
“It takes my breath away. It takes my breath away to see my efforts turn out like this,” she told CNN. “I used to spend a lot of time here in the scorching heat, taking care of them…We have lived on this land for over 50 years.”
For the past two years, the 72-year-old has been unable to access her land due to settler violence and Israeli military restrictions. It is located across from an illegal outpost in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank. She said Israeli settlers living there had assaulted and threatened her family, forcing them to leave their land in fear.
Umm Shukri’s son Shukri Shehadeh explains that while they were away, the settlers sent cattle to graze the olive trees.
Neighbors sent him videos of settlers damaging their land. When he returned, he found his house ransacked, solar panels stolen and water tanks and irrigation pipes destroyed.
And perhaps most painfully, there were no olives in sight.
“They forcibly evicted us and then used extreme violence to destroy our olives, homes and belongings. I am struggling to understand this shock,” Shehadeh said.
The settler attack on Shehadeh’s farm is part of a systematic pattern of settler impunity, especially as attacks against Palestinians have increased sharply over the past two years.
According to the United Nations Office for Human Rights (OHCHR), there were 757 attacks on settlers resulting in casualties and property damage in the first half of 2025, an increase of 13% compared to the same period last year.
This year’s harvest season also saw some of the most brazen acts of violence in recent years.
Palestinian olive pickers have been attacked at least 259 times since the harvest season began last month, according to statistics compiled by the Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Committee (CWRC).
As a result, more than 4,000 trees and saplings were destroyed, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Many of these attacks have been widely documented, with videos posted online showing some Palestinians being left bloodied and beaten.
The United Nations has called on occupying power Israel to prevent further attacks in the West Bank.
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian relief chief, warned that “failure to prevent or punish such attacks is a violation of international law.” “Palestinians must be protected. There can be no impunity. Perpetrators must be held accountable.”
Dozens of videos shot by Palestinian farmers and activists show masked Israeli settlers carrying clubs and clubs, and sometimes brandishing rifles, attacking Jewish activists in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Other videos showed settlers interacting with nearby soldiers, often supporting them. Israeli soldiers were filmed stealing olives in the town of Sinjir on Sunday after declaring the area a military zone and expelling Palestinian farmers, according to Palestinian and Israeli activists who were present.
In response to CNN’s questions about the incident, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that “the actions of the troops are not in line with IDF values,” adding that it would investigate the incident and “take disciplinary action.”
Palestinians say they have no recourse to seek justice if attacked because the military considers them to be inciting settlers. Under what activists call a two-tier legal system in the occupied West Bank, Palestinians are subject to military law, while Israeli settlers are subject to Israeli civil law.
Over the past two years, the Shehadeh have made several attempts to return to their land and crops, but have been pushed back by settlers, the military, or both.
They returned last Friday, accompanied by Jewish and Israeli activists from the Israeli human rights group Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR). RHR is one of several organizations that brings together hundreds of foreign volunteers to accompany and assist Palestinian farmers during the harvest each year.
Sometimes you’re safe in numbers, but that’s not always the case.
Palestinians and activists across the West Bank have been assaulted and detained while peacefully harvesting olives. On October 27, Jewish activists sent CNN footage of Israeli soldiers and settlement guards detaining farmers during olive harvest in the town of Karawat Bani Hassan.
Two Jewish American women who joined Palestinians and RHR in the village of Burin last month were deported by Israeli authorities last Friday, the group said in a statement, which the group said “highlights Israel’s increasing repression of civil society.”
According to local Palestinian residents and activists, the Israeli military has declared the area a closed military zone. This is said to be a security measure to prevent Palestinians from accessing their land. RHR said it was notable that not a single Jewish settler who attacked Palestinian farmers in the area had been arrested.
On Tuesday, an Israeli RHR volunteer was injured while accompanying a Palestinian farmer in the town of Karawat Bani Hassan. The group said those present were attacked by settlers and soldiers who opened fire on them.
In response to a CNN question about Israeli forces blocking access to Palestinian land, the IDF said it “recognizes the importance of the olive harvest in maintaining the local livelihood fabric,” but acknowledged that it restricts access to certain areas to “prevent friction.”
“The Israel Defense Forces categorically condemns all forms of violence that divert the attention of commanders and soldiers from their primary mission of defense and counter-terrorism.”
The olive tree is one of the most enduring symbols of the Palestinian people’s connection to the land. The annual harvest is a historical ritual deeply rooted in culture and tradition.
But its significance extends beyond symbolism and identity.
Up to 100,000 families make a living from olive harvesting, and olives are the “economic backbone of rural Palestine,” said Addis Sungei, director of OHCHR’s office in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“The olive here is never just a tree. It is a livelihood and a lineage, a resilience and an economy, a historical vein that connects Palestinians to this land,” he said.
Shehadeh relies on olives for most of her income. He said he lost nearly $25,000 in the two years he was away from the field.
And as settler attacks intensify, so do efforts led by hardliners in the Israeli government to drive Palestinians from their land.
Sungei warned that the increase in settler violence is occurring “against the backdrop of accelerating Israeli land grabs” and that officials have “openly declared their intention to annex the entire West Bank.”
US President Donald Trump has said he will not tolerate such behavior by Israel. But for most Palestinians, de facto annexation is already progressing day by day.
Israel has built more military checkpoints, barricades and iron gates throughout the occupied territories, severely restricting freedom of movement. A May UN report said there were at least 849 “mobility obstacles that permanently or intermittently restrict the movement of 3.3 million Palestinians across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
Illegal outposts have also been legalized by Israel and are rapidly expanding. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in September that Israel was “doubling down on Jewish settlements” in the West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law, and “will continue on this path.”
While all eyes are on Gaza, the Trump administration has done little to curb the movement. Palestinians, meanwhile, say they feel helpless in the face of such attacks.
stay solid
Ahmad Shakarna knows all too well what it means to feel helpless. On October 25, the 58-year-old was alerted by a neighbor that his mother-in-law had been detained by Israeli soldiers while harvesting olives in Bethlehem’s Naharin village.
He told CNN that he rushed to find her and learned that soldiers had dragged her from the olive grove and forced her to climb a rocky hill toward a military watchtower overlooking the nearby village of Beitar.
Fearing for his life, Shakarna grabbed his medicine and headed to contact her. However, he said he was aware that his life could be in danger if he confronted the soldiers.
As he approached her, a settler suddenly descended from the hilltop, grabbed Shakarna and punched her, before two Israeli soldiers pushed her to the ground.
A video of the attack widely shared on social media shows one soldier hitting him with the barrel of a rifle before the settler arrives and throws several more punches. Shakarna said he temporarily lost his eyesight and was diagnosed with a mild concussion at the hospital.
“Isn’t it a strange sight to see the military detaining civilians and allowing settlers to beat them?” he told CNN.
After five hours of questioning, he and his mother-in-law were released without charge. He says it’s proof that they haven’t done anything wrong.
The IDF told CNN that an investigation has been launched into the incident, but said it could not provide details about the ongoing investigation. But Shakarna doesn’t believe it will be sincere.
“They know exactly what happened, but they don’t care. They want to hide the crime they committed,” he said. If the incident wasn’t captured on video, he said, it would “be over” even if he was killed.
“Palestinian lives have no value,” he said.
But Shakarna is determined to remain resolute in his land.
“Olive trees existed before the occupation,” he says. “It is precious and dear to us…we will not give it up.”
Back in the Jordan Valley, Umm Shukri continues to walk unsteadily but swiftly through the olive groves, dragging his way through broken branches and withered leaves.
She speaks without stopping the flow of emotions and tries to understand her situation. “Why do they have to keep tormenting us and ruining our lives? Let us just come back here and water the trees… What have we done to deserve this violence?” she asks.
After walking around the farm and getting exhausted, she finally settled down and rested under a tree.
“Ten years of hard work. Ten years I spent here, refusing to leave,” she whispers through tears.
“But this is where I want to be. I will remain here under the olive tree. I will not leave.”
