Israel uproots hundreds of West Bank olive trees amid fears of wider destruction
Israeli forces bulldozed at least 500 olive trees in Zububa village near Jenin in the occupied West Bank, 28 June 2026
Muhammad Ateeq and Fayha Shalash report in Middle East Eye on 29 June 2026:
Israeli forces bulldozed hundreds of olive trees in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, with dozens more dunams of agricultural land at risk of further destruction in the coming days.
The large-scale operation took place in the village of Zububa, near Jenin, close to the separation wall that divides the occupied West Bank from Israel.
According to Zaki Jaradat, head of the Zububa Village Council, at least 500 olive trees across 50 dunams of land were uprooted on Sunday, less than three months before the annual harvest.
The olive harvest is a vital source of income for tens of thousands of Palestinian families across the West Bank, providing an economic lifeline for many communities. Jaradat said further bulldozing is expected in the coming days, with around 120 dunams of olive groves in the area at risk of being razed.
“The olive harvest is over for us,” Mahmoud Jaradat, one of the affected landowners, told Middle East Eye. “I had dozens of trees, and now they’ve all been bulldozed and uprooted,” he said. “I’ll have to buy olive oil instead of selling it this year.”
Residents had previously been told by the army that the land would be cleared to create a security “buffer zone” along the separation wall, much of which runs through land belonging to the village.
The affected area contains around 2,000 olive trees. Their owners had been preparing for the October harvest but are now facing the prospect of losing much of this year’s crop.
“All my hard work and years of toil vanished in a single moment,” Mahmoud said. “What can I say? I have no words in the face of this heartbreaking scene.”
Expanded bulldozing
Israeli forces have been bulldozing land adjacent to the separation wall for months.
According to Zaki Jaradat, five dunams were razed around five months ago, followed by another 60 dunams two months later. Last month, the army issued notices informing residents that olive trees across a further 127 dunams would be uprooted.
Residents were nonetheless shocked on Sunday when the bulldozing extended beyond the designated areas and reached land close to their homes.
“They told us they would bulldoze 127 dunams, but from what we see now, what they will bulldoze will exceed 250 dunams from all directions, all under the pretext of security,” Zaki told MEE.
Zububa once covered around 14,000 dunams. Since the 1948 Nakba and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in 1967, however, the village has steadily lost large swathes of its land.