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Amal Slaibi, 58, rolls her eyes every time she passes her family’s small but profitable farm in the West Bank, which she has held since her father became too old to eat crops 25 years ago.
Amal has fond memories of growing up among the grape and peach trees on the farm Beit Ummarnorth of Hebron. The fruits helped the family to earn a lot of money, while the leaves provided good shade for the whole world.
This happened until 1984, when Israel’s restricted area of Karmei Tzur was built, an iron fence to protect grazing areas in the land of the Arabs.
Last November, Israeli bulldozers reached the village, uprooting their grapes. Their seven dunam orchards and about 30 acres belonging to Slaibi’s uncle were destroyed by the Israeli army.
The military ordered the family not to come within 500 meters (546 yards) of their vineyard, saying the land was too close to Karmei Tzur’s illegal land, even though his family had owned the land for generations.
“They stopped us from passing by it, then they opened fire… They left us with nothing to live for,” Slaibi told Al Jazeera.
A lost place
The harvest, in May and June, was providing the Slaibi family of 12 people with at least 10,000 shekels (about $3,300), a small but sufficient income.
After the plants were uprooted, they tried to make up for their losses by plucking grapes and vine leaves from the distant fields they had, but these were inferior to their most valuable and profitable field, which is now destroyed.
“The land that was bulldozed has moist, rich soil, perfect for growing grapes and other crops, but the rest of the land is dry and unsuitable,” Slaibi said.
Since the start of the war against Gaza in October 2023, the Israeli army, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, has tightened restrictions on thousands of Palestinian farmers from entering their fields.
When Israeli authorities allow Palestinians to enter their properties for a few hours a month, families rush to their olive or grape fields – often their only source of income – to prepare for the harvest season. The few days they have in the year to tend to their crops is not enough time for farmers to ensure a good harvest.
“Sometime last year, they allowed us to enter our garden to cultivate.
“We don’t even have the means to farm, cultivate sustainably, and take care of them because our main source of income is gone.” Even if they let us go back, it would take us time and effort to recognize the boundaries of our land because they have all become flat and unrecognizable.
The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture noted in January an alarming and unprecedented increase in Israeli violations against the agricultural sector of the West Bank in 2025, carried out by Israeli soldiers and residents.
Damage to green areas, agricultural machinery and roads used by farmers in the West Bank is estimated at $2.57m, but the ministry estimates that the direct economic damage was more than $103m. Israel’s campaign against agriculture in the West Bank had far-reaching consequences beyond this sector, affecting aid flows, rising food prices, rising unemployment, and deteriorating economic and security conditions for rural families.
“This has prevented farmers from accessing their land, disrupting agriculture and trade, and weakening agricultural policies,” the ministry said in a statement.
Fighting bees
South of the Hebron hills, a Palestinian family has been brave in the face of repeated attacks by the settlers.
Jihad Nawajah, from Susya village in Masafer Yatta, had a small herd of sheep until 2010, when villagers killed the animals and killed many.
Despite losing his only source of income and trying to seize his land, Nawajah decided to stay and decided to make honey instead. They started in 2011 with just three hives, but five years later, the apiary had grown to 120, producing the best honey in the West Bank thanks to Masafer Yatta’s special plants.
In 2016, villagers returned and destroyed 100 beehives, costing the Nawajahs nearly 200,000 shekels ($67,000).
“I rebuilt my hives so that the residents would not be happy when I lost them,” he told Al Jazeera. “In the year 2025, they tried to burn others, but we chased them away. We are in danger at any time and we cannot go more than 50 meters from our houses.”
Nawajah moved the remaining hives near his house to prevent another attack by the colonists. Beekeeping still provides him with a source of income, and although it is not as profitable as it once was, his life is more secure than livestock farming.
“I am asking all the people of Masafer Yatta to start beekeeping because it is difficult for refugees to steal beehives and approach them like livestock. In this way, we can maintain our presence and stay on our land,” he concluded.
Beekeeping operations in the West Bank are still regularly attacked by settlers, causing a direct loss of approximately $154,000 to the industry, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The destruction of beehives has serious environmental consequences beyond agriculture, with the reduction of natural pollination of surrounding crops due to fewer bees.
Painful lessons
The World Food Programme’s Food Security Assessment for the fourth quarter of 2025 highlighted the ongoing attacks on the Palestinian economy.
Poverty levels in the occupied West Bank rose from 12% before October 2023 to 28% by the end of 2026, according to the study.
About 78% of the households surveyed reported a decrease in their income, and more than 60% said they are now unable to pay their monthly income. Rising food and fuel prices, coupled with declining purchasing power, have had a major impact on the domestic economy.
The number of households with food shortages has almost tripled, rising from 5% in June 2022 to 14% by the end of 2025. Most Palestinians rely on low-quality or low-cost food, less food, and fewer portions. The unemployment rate in the West Bank, meanwhile, reached 30% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the United Nations.
Economist Nasr Abdel Karim said that the role of those involved in the loss of these funds is undeniable, while this has caused difficulties for Palestinian farmers to transport goods and increase income.
“Without distribution networks, they are forced to rely on their own efforts, which leads to other problems,” Abdel Karim told Al Jazeera.
“I estimate that more than 20% of their jobs are down because of what’s going on now.”
Small and medium-income business owners – such as beekeepers or livestock farmers – have been hit hardest.
The Palestinian economy has shrunk by 25% in the past two years, meaning it has lost a third of its strength, according to the UN.
“What affects the Palestinian economy and the movement of people, institutions and people, is the occupation of Israel in its various forms, the most dangerous of which is the behavior of refugees and brutality,” said Abdel Karim.
