West BankLubban al-Gharbi
Settlers are picking and pressing Palestinian olives as harvest attacks grow, rights group says
In Lubban al-Gharbi a villager watched his olives taken. An Israeli government spokesperson said olives picked by a Jew in the Jewish ancestral homeland were not theft.
Yesh Din recorded 125 physical attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters and 168 cases of crop theft in the first 24 days of the season, with Israeli forces present in at least a quarter.
Reuters reported from Lubban al-Gharbi, where villager Ahmed Salem's olives were taken by settlers.
Yesh Din's figures cover the first 24 days of the harvest. Palestinian authorities say three Palestinians have been killed in settler attacks this season.
Reuters said olive oil from Avichai Farm, a settler outpost with its own press, sells for about $20 a bottle. A rabbi from the Alon Shvut settlement condemned the theft.
An Israeli government spokesperson argued the picking was not theft while saying no one should take the law into their own hands. The military said it takes violence seriously.
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How would you feel if something that belonged to you was being violated, and you could do nothing about it?Ahmed Salem, villager, Lubban al-Gharbi · Reuters via Al-Monitor
We pay in blood for the olives.Samer Ben Shamsi, farmer attacked in Beita on 9 October · Reuters via Al-Monitor
part of a campaign of ethnic cleansingZiv Stahl, executive director, Yesh Din · Reuters via Al-Monitor
Sources
- Reuters via Al-Monitor, 22 Oct 2026
Every figure and quote above links to where it was published. Something wrong? Corrections.
