The Ministry of Agriculture reported that the areas that farmers were unable to reach during the last olive season and harvest their fruits amounted to more than 110 thousand dunums (about 13.2% of the area planted with olives in the northern governorates).

The ministry added in a report published during the closing conference of the comprehensive national olive harvest campaign "Al-Fazaa" for the year 2024, today, Sunday, that after this campaign, those areas decreased to about 35 thousand dunums, or about 4.2% of the total area planted with olives.

In the southern governorates, more than 75% of the olive trees were destroyed, and our people in the Gaza Strip were only able to harvest a very small portion of the undestroyed lands.

Regarding the obstacles and serious risks facing farmers during the olive harvest season, the report noted that due to the settlers and the occupation army, farmers were unable to harvest tens of thousands of dunams, or carry out the necessary agricultural operations such as plowing, pruning, and others.

The Ministry indicated that this year it called for mobilizing the spirit of support and challenge to achieve a fruitful olive harvest season by launching a national voluntary campaign (Al-Faz’a) to pick olives, in partnership with all the various government agencies, local and international bodies and institutions to support farmers in reaching their lands and picking the olive produce from their trees, focusing on key areas that are repeatedly exposed to repeated attacks by the occupation forces and settlers, which included areas behind the apartheid wall, near the wall, adjacent to illegal settlements, and on the sides of main roads in areas classified as (C).

The Ministry explained that it was decided to adopt the National Olive Picking Campaign (Al-Fazaa) as one of the Ministry’s permanent annual programmes.

This table shows the areas that farmers were unable to reach and harvest olives in for the 2024 season compared to the 2023 season.