About 60% of olive farmers were unable to harvest their crops in 2023, and about a third last year, according to the PFU's records. This year, a record 70% will be prevented from harvesting, Milhem expects. The revenue from olives in the West Bank is now a fraction of the $130m (£99m) annually before the war. In As-Sawiya, olive oil production has dropped from 150,000 litres annually to 30,000 litres.
Farmers are also frequently refused permission to harvest their olives by the Israeli military. "Even if we get a permit, they give us one day when we need five," Hassan says. According to the UN, no requests for access to Palestinian land inside or within 100-200 metres of settlement boundaries in the northern West Bank have been approved, through "prior coordination" with Israeli authorities.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/03/olives-settler-violence-west-bank-farmers
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