Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz has directed authorities to initiate expulsion proceedings against foreign activists who intend to assist Palestinian farmers during the ongoing olive harvesting season. The decision follows a request by Israel Gantz, head of the Yesha Council, which represents settlements in the occupied West Bank. Gantz had urged Katz earlier this week to block activists he claimed were traveling to olive-picking areas to create provocations and confrontations.
Gantz stated that extremist activists, whether Israeli or foreign, would not be permitted to enter these zones to incite friction. He emphasized that the olive harvest season should not be transformed into a tool for deliberate clashes on the ground. This directive comes amid reports from Israeli human rights organizations indicating a significant rise in settler attacks against Palestinian farmers in recent years, part of efforts to deprive Palestinians of a crucial income source.
The organization Yesh Din recorded 109 incidents involving settlers and soldiers against Palestinians in 75 towns and villages in the West Bank linked to the current olive harvest. During the 2025 olive season, the Israeli military declared entire Palestinian areas as closed military zones on several occasions to prevent activists from reaching farmers. Days ago, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported that the military threatened to declare Palestinian olive fields in the occupied West Bank as closed military zones if owners employed Israeli or foreign solidarity members to accompany them during the harvest.
In one instance in the town of Beita south of Nablus, soldiers halted the olive harvesting process despite the land being located in Area B. According to the newspaper, occupation forces declared several agricultural areas as closed military zones and threatened in some cases to cancel harvesting operations in entire regions. These actions contradict military instructions stating that accompaniment by solidarity members does not constitute grounds in itself to prevent access to lands or close areas.
