Farmers in Beit Ummar, Palestine report settler attacks
In Palestine, in Beit Ummar in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian farmers reported systematic attacks by Israeli settlers, damage to crops by livestock, and restrictions on access to their own land. As Al Jazeera English reports, new settler outposts on nearby hills appeared in mid-2024.
Fifty-six-year-old farmer Tiba al-Sabaa said that she spends most of her day guarding her home and land. According to her, settlers bring sheep onto cultivated fields, where the animals graze and trample the crops. She also stated that settlers react aggressively to any Palestinian activity on the land.
Access to vineyards
Fifty-nine-year-old Anwar Sabarneh, who supports a family of 14 people, has several dunams of vineyards 300 metres from his home. He said that reaching the plots has become difficult because of the danger, while two of his brothers were forced to leave their land due to repeated violations by settlers.
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Sabarneh also stated that the Israeli military required him to obtain permission to work near his own home and on his land. According to him, Palestinians are not allowed to build on the plots, and his sheep have remained in the barn for more than eight months because of the danger posed by settlers. He claims that settlers pursue him when he takes the animals out and steal sheep. According to the farmer, Israeli soldiers detained and beat his children when they tried to recover the stolen animals.
Data from the Palestinian commission
According to the Palestinian Commission for Resistance to Colonization and Wall Construction, settlers and Israeli forces carried out 11,074 attacks in the West Bank in the first half of 2026. Of these, 3,488 were carried out by settlers, according to the commission's calculations.
Commission director and settlement expert Hassan Breijieh stated that the expansion of settlements, restrictions on Palestinian movement, military gates at the entrances to communities, and bypass roads built by Israel complicate access to orchards and vineyards. According to him, farmers have been unable to harvest olives, grapes, and guavas for a fourth consecutive season, while some land remains uncultivated and unpruned because plots have been forcibly abandoned.
