October is the annual olive harvesting season inside the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). However, the hills of the West Bank can be a dangerous place for Palestinian farmers setting out to pick the sour green and black olives from the ancient trees. Olive farming represents the mainstay of income for thousands of Palestinian farmers. It provides a sustainable livelihood for them and their families but also represents a traditional way of farming that goes back thousands of years.
Much of Palestinian farmland sits close to Israeli settlements, large housing estates built illegally on confiscated Palestinian land. In certain parts of the West Bank the settlers are engaged in a violent battle to drive the Palestinian farming families off their lands and, often, to uproot the olive trees or steal the harvest.
In 2006 Trócaire's partners the Rabbis for Human Rights reported marginal improvements in the involvement of the Israeli military and the police in helping to protect the Palestinian farmers and arrest Israeli settlers responsible for attacks. But, just after the start of the 2007 harvest season, the violence is escalating already.
In an appeal for support Rabbi Arik Ascherman, of Rabbis for Human Rights described how "masked [Israeli] settlers attacked [Palestinian] farmers on Sunday last week, and on Tuesday attackers split open the head of a Palestinian farmer."
Staff and volunteers with Rabbis for Human Rights were not immune to attack either. One Israeli volunteer and a Palestinian staff member with RHR were attacked and, later, arrested by the Israeli Police. This was despite the fact that they were victims of the attack. Despite the difficulties faced by farmers throughout the occupied West Bank, Trócaire's partners are working with local communities and international support networks to overcome violence and support farmers who face tough circumstances.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman, one of Trócaire's Israeli partners, told Trócaire "our faith is stronger then arrests, threats, hate speech or humiliation. We will tip the scales with our presence, determination and our faith...See you in the Olive groves!"
To contact Trócaire's press team:
Republic of Ireland
Catherine Ginty, Press Officer, Trócaire. T: +353 1 505 3270 M: 086 629 3994