Palestinians fear violent olive harvest ahead of Israeli elections

With a black eye and a bandage covering his face, Palestinian farmer Abdellatif Bazzari looks out at his rows of olive trees that are half harvested before the season has even started. Bazzari, who was injured in a raid on the fields by Israeli settlers that killed his cousin, is afraid to return to harvest the other half without some sort of army protection, fearing a new attack. Like many olive farmers in the plains nestled between the occupied West Bank’s sinuous limestone hills, Bazzari decided to harvest as early as possible this year, hoping both to save his crops and avoid beatings. A Palestinian man is seen at an olive tree field during the harvest season, near the controversial Israeli separation wall, in the village of Beit Awwa, west of Hebron City in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Oct 15, 2026.

— AFP With Israel heading to elections on Oct 27, some farmers believe the violence will escalate as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, locked in a tight race, seeks to shore up his right-wing base. “I think the prime minister of Israel is worried about the results of elections and he doesn’t want to take any action against the settlers as he hopes to receive their votes,” Bazzari told AFP . “If he loses, things will get better,” he hoped. Olives are as important economically to Palestinians as they are a symbol of their attachment to the land, accounting for an estimated 15 per cent of the West Bank’s agricultural GDP. A Palestinian man scoops a handful of olives at an olive tree field during the harvest season, near the controversial Israeli separation wall, in the village of Beit Awwa, west of Hebron City in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Oct 15, 2026. — AFP On Oct 7, a group of about 15 to 20 settlers raided the field where Bazzari and his family were…