Israel expands West Bank destruction into key agricultural zone

ARMABA, Occupied West Bank – The peaceful atmosphere of early September was shattered by the roar of bulldozers and the sound of ancient olive trees being uprooted along the Arraba-Ya’bad road. For kilometers, fields of olive groves were razed, structures reduced to twisted metal, and Israeli flags planted prominently, marking a rapid escalation in the campaign of dispossession in one of the region’s most fertile agricultural areas.

Kamal al-Uraidi witnessed the destruction firsthand as he drove past the al-Fari family’s land, where soldiers prevented two women from approaching the machines that were completing the demolition of their olive grove. The family reported that their phones were confiscated during the operation, preventing them from documenting the event, and their identification documents were seized and photographed.

“This is a settlement plan – settlers over there, confiscations here, uprooting trees, Judaisation of the land, expelling people from this land – they want to drive people out,” al-Uraidi said. “Soon, there will be nothing left.”

Ahmed Arda, the mayor of Arraba, described the area as being under a “state of siege.” Backed by Israeli soldiers, settlers have intensified attacks on Palestinian homes, businesses, and farmland since the war in Gaza began in October 2023. Arda noted that his town is now hemmed in by the Mevo Dotan settlement to the west, the newly established Emek Dotan settlement to the north, and several new settler outposts to the south.

While the Arraba military camp and four nearby settlements were evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel’s disengagement plan, leaving the area relatively free of settler infrastructure for two decades, the situation has deteriorated sharply since March. In May, the Israeli military announced the reoccupation of the Arraba military camp, followed by moves to establish Emek Dotan on 220 dunums (approximately 0.2 square kilometers) of Arraba’s land. The new settlement was formally inaugurated on August 9 with the attendance of Israeli ministers.

Arda recounted being awakened in the middle of the night by Israeli security forces, who demanded he suppress what they termed “incitement” by instructing local mosque imams to stop posting updates on social media. Arda refused, stating, “We are people living on our land, living in our country – we want to live in peace… You are the ones who came at us and this land is ours.”

The Arraba Plain, comprising 33,000 dunums of arable land, is the most agriculturally productive area in the northern West Bank and the primary source of olive oil for the Jenin governorate. However, Israeli authorities have recently issued notices ordering the removal of vegetation along a roughly seven-kilometer stretch, raising fears of further clearance. Separately, a cluster of military orders covering more than 300 dunams was issued this summer.

According to Ahmed al-Uraidi, roughly 250 olive trees belonging to his family were uprooted this week on land classified as Area A, which is technically under Palestinian Authority control. Residents report that armed settlers have begun destroying crops at night and grazing animals on village land. Naim al-Sha’er lost 400 fig trees after settlers cut through his iron fence on September 1.

“It’s not near the road, it’s not bothering any settler – nothing,” al-Sha’er said. “Every day … you check on [your trees], you feel good watching it grow, little by little. Like your own son. And then, [without warning], they kill it.”

Mayor Arda stated that 220 dunams have been confiscated for Emek Dotan, with an additional 223 dunams bulldozed in recent operations. Furthermore, 2,800 dunams of farmland have been rendered inaccessible due to settler attacks or closed military zone orders. Of the approximately 70 percent of Arraba’s 13,000 residents who depend on farming, all agricultural activity is now under threat.

“They want to turn most of the Palestinian people into refugees, living in camps,” Arda said. “This is what their Zionist idea is trying to achieve – that nothing is left to tie us to the land, so that we start thinking about emigration and leaving.”

Dror Etkes, co-founder of the Israeli watchdog Kerem Navot, described the current campaign as an “increasingly brazen application of a model used elsewhere.” He highlighted that the strategy now extends into Area A, with new military outposts and roads designed to bisect the northern West Bank. Etkes called the construction of a settler road connecting Mevo Dotan to settlements east of Jenin “absolutely the most extreme measure which the Israeli authorities have taken until today,” arguing it fundamentally violates the Oslo Accords.

For families like the al-Faris, the loss is personal and generational. Khalil al-Fari watched as all 150 of his family’s trees were destroyed, along with 300 of his neighbor’s. His nephew, Ahmed al-Fari, recalled growing up among trees that were over 80 years old, noting that the bulldozer operator seemed ashamed.

“Today, the tree was lying on the ground and we were just watching,” Ahmed said. “My grandmother used to pick from these trees. I remember how she’d move through them… Even the branches we used to hang the swings on, we still remember them.”

Al Jazeera contacted Israeli authorities and the military for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.