Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: For the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu is signaling that he wants to end the war on Gaza
Israeli Channel 12, citing an American source: We want to have entered a path toward captive release and a ceasefire before Netanyahu arrives in Washington
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One martyr and two injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a motorcycle in the town of Mahrouna
Al Mayadeen correspondent to Southern Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle between the towns of Jwayya and Mahrouna.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One martyred in the Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Kawnin
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone targets a car in the town of Kawnin
Naeini: If our national interests are attacked again, our response this time will be stronger and more destructive
Naeini: The war has proven that the settlers are defenseless against Iranian missile and drone forces
Naeini: Trump lacks an understanding of the true strength of the Iranian people and is so deluded as to believe he can change the reality of Iran's victory
Naeini: The defeat led to Trump's confusion and loss of balance, which was reflected in his ill-considered statements

'They want all Palestine': Palestinian farmer laments burnt olive crop

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Times of Israel
  • 21 Sep 2024 23:40
  • 3 Shares
4 Min Read

In a heartbreaking account, Palestinian olive farmer Eid speaks about the devastating impact of intentional fires set by Israeli settlers that ravaged olive groves around Burin.

Listen
  • x
  • They want all Palestine: Palestinian farmer laments his burned harvest
    Armed Israeli settlers gather on a hill overlooking the village of Mughayir near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on April 13, 2024. (AFP)

Palestinian olive farmer Eid told The Times of Israel that Israeli settlers intentionally set fires that ravaged olive groves around Burin the previous Wednesday, damaging or destroying hundreds of trees.

Eid estimated that around 300 of his 900 olive trees were lost, though he has been unable to assess the full extent of the damage due to fears of attacks by extremist settlers and IOF restrictions on access. In total, he believes approximately one thousand trees were either destroyed or damaged in the attack.

“Wednesday was a big loss. There won’t be any olives this year,” he told The Times of Israel. “We have lost a lot of olives and olive oil this year.”

Due to ongoing Israeli restrictions, which have worsened because of the current war on Gaza, Eid, like many Palestinian farmers, has been unable to access his land for olive cultivation and harvesting for a year and a half. He stressed that he has nearly exhausted his financial resources.

 “Where will I get money? What will I do, what will we eat?” he questioned.

As a father of three daughters, Eid expressed despair over finding the funds to enroll his eldest in university, with the registration deadline approaching. “I don’t have one shekel to pay for her university. Where will I get the money from?” he said, after proudly noting her impressive 89 grade point average from high school.

Footage taken on the morning of the fires by a Yesh Din field operative, an organization that monitors settler violence, captured five masked settlers—one with a chainsaw—leaving the olive groves as small fires burned among the trees.

The fires began slowly, but after several hours, large clouds of smoke were rising from the olive groves.

Related News

Israeli settlers storm al-Buraq Wall, attack Palestinians in West Bank

60+ British lawmakers demand ban on imports from Israeli settlements

In another video taken by the Yesh Din operative, the masked settlers are seen making their way up the hill toward what appears to be the dormitories of the Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva, located near Yitzhar. This settlement, situated just southwest of Burin, has repeatedly been a source of settler violence against Palestinians and their property.

The yeshiva itself is known for its radical stance; its dean, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, was investigated but not charged for incitement to racism related to his controversial book, Torat Hamelech, which discusses scenarios in which it might be permissible for Jews to kill Palestinians.

Not an isolated incident 

Eid and other farmers in the Burin area have faced repeated settler attacks on their land from surrounding settlements and outposts. Eid’s situation is further complicated by strict access restrictions imposed by the IOF on Palestinian landowners whose properties are near settlements or illegal outposts.

Eid owns olive groves east of Burin, at the base of the extremist illegal outpost Givat Ronen, and west of Burin, near Yitzhar. Even during normal circumstances, he can only access his land for one or two days a year—once in spring for cultivation and again in autumn for harvest.

The ongoing Israeli war on Gaza has eliminated even that limited access. The IOF did not allow Eid and many Palestinians to access their land for the 2023 harvest or cultivation in the previous spring.

Meanwhile, the fire has dashed any hope Eid and his family might have had. Even for the trees that survived the flames, many of the fruits may have been ruined.

“I just feel sad and depressed. These trees—this is what I do. I work with olives and olive oil,” Eid told The Times of Israel.

He noted that he has endured settler attacks and intimidation for years, saying that each time he attempted to visit his groves, he would quickly face threats from armed settlers.

He blamed extremist settlers and the current Israeli government for worsening his situation, stating, “Bibi, Smotrich, Ben Gvir, ......, they want war the whole time… they want all of Palestine.”

Read more: Olive Harvest Season: Another Palestinian Struggle against "Israel's" Eco-Terrorism

  • Israeli settler violence
  • olive groves
  • Israeli occupation forces
  • Gaza genocide
  • Palestinian farmers
  • West Bank
  • Israeli occupation
  • Israeli aggression on Gaza
  • Burin
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
In this June, 12, 2021, file photo, former Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran.
Politics

Iran strategically foiled Israeli-US scheme, Advisor Shamkhani says

Sheikh Naim
MENA

Let no one think they can subjugate Hezbollah: Sheikh Qassem

Screengrab from a video published by the al-Qassam Brigades shows confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam releases video of deadly ambush with Israeli forces in Gaza

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi, attends an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday, June 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran bars IAEA chief Grossi from nuclear facility inspections

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS