West Bank Palestinians face military restrictions and tear gas during olive harvest

Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank were permitted limited access to their olive groves under Israeli military restrictions on Thursday. Euronews reported that many farmers arrived to find damaged trees, while Israeli soldiers stood guard as families gathered what crops they could in the village of al-Mughayyir. Video footage showed Israeli troops firing tear gas near the olive pickers, sending smoke through the trees as a boy threw a canister away. [1]

The village of al-Mughayyir is home to approximately 3,000 people and lies north-east of Ramallah, covering around 4,300 hectares of land. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Israeli settlers have previously attacked Palestinian olive pickers in the region, including an incident in October where trees were burned and harvesters were injured. [1][17][18]

The harvest restrictions come amid wider disruption and displacement across the occupied West Bank. Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye both reported that Israeli forces demolished five homes in Biddu, displacing more than 100 Palestinians. Additionally, Anadolu Ajansı and A News reported that Israel has issued tenders for 91 settlement units in the occupied West Bank and revised its E1 tender schedule. [4][5][6][9][11]

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned Israeli leadership that escalating violence in the West Bank could lead to civil war. The West Bank is a landlocked territory bordered by Israel, Jordan, and the Dead Sea, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. [2][12][15]