27 August 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | West Bank
At the invitation of Palestinian communities, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to join us for the 2024 Olive Harvest Campaign, in collaboration with Faz3a and other groups, starting beginning of October throughout November.
While this is a period when Palestinian families get together in the field and celebrate their connection to the land, it is also a time of increased violence and harassment by Israeli settlers, protected and aided by the army. Harvesting therefore represents a symbol of resistance and defiance towards the occupation and colonisation of Palestine.
In many areas of the West Bank, Palestinian farmers are forced to coordinate with the Israeli army to obtain permission to access their own land. Last year, as Israel perpetrated a genocide against the people of Gaza, the army cancelled almost all permits, preventing farmers to access their land. According to OCHA, during last season more than 96.000 dunums of olive-cultivated lands in the West Bank remained unharvested and over 2,000 trees were vandalized during harvest-related incidents. Palestinians also experienced increased violence from settlers and the army.
As settlers’ and soldiers’ violence is spiraling across the West Bank, speeding up the ethnic cleansing in the area, and the genocide in Gaza approaches one year, Palestinians are expecting a particularly hard harvest and are requesting the presence of international activists now more than ever.
!! To register your interest in joining the Olive Harvest contact ismtraining@riseup.net !!
Here you can read more about the 2022 olive harvest season: https://palsolidarity.org/2022/12/the-olive-harvest-struggle-resistance-and-oppression/
During this time, the ISM will continue supporting other communities that are facing violence and forcible displacement, as in Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley.