The 2015 olive harvest season starts amidst escalating tension in the oPt

Yield expected to decline from previous year

The olive harvest season started during October amidst escalating clashes and attacks (see section on Escalation). There were also recurrent concerns about restrictions on the access of farmers to their olive groves in certain areas and about inadequate law enforcement in the face of settler violence.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, the olive oil industry makes up 25 per cent of oPt’s agricultural income,[1] and contributes to the livelihoods of approximately 100,000 families.[2] The overall yield this season is projected at 18,000 MT (metric tons) of oil, down 25 per cent from last year (24,000 MT) and nearly the same as in 2013 (17,600 MT).[3]

The Barrier has a direct impact on olive-related livelihoods. Palestinian farmers need special permits or prior coordination to access their farming land located between the Barrier and the Green Line, and declared as a ‘closed area’. The approval rate for permit applications during the olive harvest season in recent years has fluctuated between 50 and 60 per cent. For those granted permits, entry to the ‘closed area’ is channelled through some 85 gates designated for agricultural access.

In approximately 90 Palestinian communities that own land within or in the vicinity of 56 Israeli settlements and settlement outposts, farmers can only access their land by prior coordination with the Israeli authorities. This is generally only for a limited number of days during the harvest and ploughing seasons. During these days, farmers can access their land with some protection from Israeli forces, while the entry of Israeli settlers to these areas is prohibited.

These access restrictions impede essential agricultural activities such as ploughing, pruning, fertilizing and pest and weed management, and have an adverse impact on olive productivity and value. Data collected by OCHA show that olive trees in the area between the Barrier and the Green Line have a reduced yield of approximately 60 percent compared with equivalent trees on the ‘Palestinian’ side of the Barrier.[4]

Olive-based livelihoods in multiple West Bank areas are also undermined by the uprooting and vandalizing of olive trees by Israeli settlers. Between January and September 2015, approximately 11,000 trees and saplings were affected, the largest figure since 2011 when OCHA began recording this indicator. Roughly 45 per cent of the trees damaged were in an incident in Turmus’ayya village in Ramallah, where around 5,000 olive saplings (two to three years old) had been uprooted on the first day of 2015.[5] Every year during and prior to the harvesting season, there are numerous reports of Palestinian groves being harvested by Israeli settlers, particularly in areas where Palestinian access is restricted.

Intimidation and physical assaults on Palestinian farmers during the harvest season also impact on yields. Such incidents have declined in recent years due to the enhanced deployment of Israeli military forces in sensitive areas around Israeli settlements. In some cases a protective presence is supplied under the coordination of the Protection Cluster (see section on Preventive measures). The rise in incidents since mid-September is likely to affect this trend and result in a higher number of incidents than in recent years.

The prevalence of Israeli settler violence and vandalism against olive trees is closely linked to the lack of adequate law enforcement by the Israeli authorities. According to the Israeli NGO Yesh Din, over 96 per cent of complaints filed with the Israeli police between 2005 and 2014 regarding deliberate damage to Palestinian-owned trees by Israeli settlers, and followed up by the organization, were closed without an indictment.[6] Inadequate enforcement of the rule of law is not limited to accountability for violent attacks, but also applies to the takeover of Palestinian private and public land, and the expansion of Israeli settlements, which is reflected in the policy of retroactively legalizing settlement outposts built without prior official authorization. Recent media reports indicated that the Israeli authorities intend to legalize four such outposts (Adei Ad, Esh Kodesh, Kida, and Ahiya) in Nablus governorate.[7] Two of these settlements are frequently implicated in attacks against Palestinian civilians and property.

Under international law, Israel, as the occupying power, is obligated to protect Palestinian civilians and their property. It must ensure that Palestinians farmers have safe and unimpeded access to their agricultural land throughout the year and ensure accountability for those responsible for attacks.

Preventive measures by international humanitarian organizations during the olive harvest

For the fourth year in a row, the Protection Cluster, through the OHCHR-chaired Core Group on Settler Violence, has coordinated the deployment of a protective presence in 67 identified areas of friction where settler violence has been recurrent. Additional areas may be added over the course of the harvest based on newly identified needs. Participating organizations will also collect information on incidents for use in reporting and to inform protection responses (e.g. legal assistance, psychosocial response or further protective presence), and, where appropriate, to trigger inter-cluster responses to incidents of settler violence resulting in property damage.