For 2026, the olive harvest in the occupied West Bank is taking place in a particularly restrictive and violent context. Even if the harvest has not yet fully begun as of 30 September 2026, some incidents and obsruction from the settlers and/or the soldiers were already reported. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture set 15 October as the start date for harvesting the main Nabali Baladi variety, with some other varieties beginning on 5 November. Pickling olives could be harvested from 20 September. The ministry estimates approximately 21,000 tonnes of olive oil for the 2026 season.

The 2026 season follows extensive destruction of olive trees. In September, Israeli military bulldozers uprooted large olive groves near Deir Nizam, north-west of Ramallah, shortly before the harvest. Reuters reported that approximately 9 acres of olive trees belonging to several Palestinian farmers were destroyed. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture documented, for example, the uprooting of around 500 olive trees over 26 dunams near Jalbun and Faqqu'a in March. Thousands of trees were uprooted or cut by settlers or soldiers during the past year.

Access to olive groves is already being restricted. On 29 September, for example, Palestinian farmers from Deir Istiya, west of Salfit, were prevented from reaching their olive groves by settlers. The report says the settlers were accompanied/protected by Israeli occupation forces.

Settler attacks are a major concern for the harvest. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture launched its 2026 campaign specifically around protecting farmers and their land, with particular attention to “hotspots,” areas near settlements and land behind the Separation Wall. This is happening against a background of increasing settler attacks in 2026. A lot of incidents of settlers stealing the olive at the end of September in the Palestinian agricultural land were observed.

Access restrictions are structural: OCHA reports that Palestinian farmers whose land is near settlements or between the Barrier and the Green Line may require permits or prior coordination with the Israeli military. In April 2026, OCHA reported that 98 Palestinian communities in nine governorates were required to use prior-coordination arrangements to access farmland near settlements