Israeli Attacks Destroy Over 8,000 Olive Trees in One Week – Nearly $7M in Losses

December 26, 2025 News
Olive trees chopped by illegal Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. (Photo: via WAFA)

The West Bank has seen rising violence by the Israeli army and illegal settlers, often coinciding with harvest and planting seasons.

Attacks by the Israeli army and illegal Jewish settlers have destroyed over 8,000 olive trees in the occupied West Bank in one week, causing nearly $7 million in losses, according to the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry.

In its weekly report, the ministry said on Thursday that Palestinian lands have witnessed a “dangerous and accelerating escalation” in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers, directly targeting the agricultural sector and sources of food security, the Anadolu news agency reported.

The ministry said these attacks, which occurred during the third week of December, were part of a systematic policy aimed at “seizing Palestinian land and emptying it of its indigenous inhabitants.”

Water Wells Destroyed

According to the report, Israeli attacks were concentrated in the northern and central West Bank, where the army uprooted 5,000 olive trees in the town of Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin in the north, and another 3,000 olive trees in Turmus Ayya, east of Ramallah in the central West Bank.

The ministry also recorded sporadic bulldozing operations, including the uprooting of 156 olive trees in East Jerusalem, 100 fig trees in Tulkarem, 13 olive trees in eastern Qalqilya, and 19 olive trees, including 10 ancient trees, in Salfit and Bethlehem.

The report also documented the destruction of agricultural infrastructure, including the demolition of 13 water wells and agricultural rooms, the damaging of irrigation networks and theft of water pumps, the destruction of 82 beehives, and the poisoning of herds of sheep in various areas.

Escalating Violence

The West Bank has seen rising violence by the Israeli army and illegal settlers, often coinciding with harvest and planting seasons, an escalation the Palestinians say is aimed at pressuring farmers to abandon their lands.

According to the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, an official body, illegal Israeli settlers carried out 621 attacks against Palestinians and property in the occupied West Bank in November.

Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,103 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000, and detained around 21,000 since October 2023, Palestinian figures showed.

‘Illegal’ – UK Condemns Israel’s Approval of 19 New Illegal West Bank Settlements

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

(Anadolu, PC)

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1 Comment

  1. Post October 7 behavior? Nope – this has been ongoing for many years and when one studies these atrocities and conditions that Israel has imposed on Palestinians it is a lot easier to understand why something like O7 would happen, even though O7 was allowed to happen by Israeli actions. If someone interviewed all the hostages that Hamas captured on O7, I would bet that over 90% of them would prefer to be captives of Hamas rather than the “settlers” after what has transpired. On October 7, Israel killed MOST of those 1200 Israelis, making sure the world would be outraged by the carnage that they actually did! Then Israel started to bomb the hell out of Gaza without the slightest regard!

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