Israeli army uproots hundreds of olive trees in West Bank ahead of harvest

Israeli forces uprooted around 400 olive trees in the occupied West Bank as the annual olive harvest season approaches, according to Palestinian residents cited by Turkey's Anadolu Agency.

Palestinian farmers in the affected area said the trees had been planted by earlier generations decades ago, describing the uprooting as an economic and emotional loss to families who rely on olive cultivation as both a livelihood and a long-standing connection to their land. One elderly resident told Anadolu that the community intends to replant the trees.

The olive harvest is a significant seasonal economic activity for many Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and incidents involving the destruction or uprooting of olive trees have been documented periodically by rights groups and local residents in past years, often coinciding with the approach of the harvest.

The Israeli military has not issued an immediate public comment on this specific incident. Disputes over land access, agricultural activity and the presence of Israeli settlements in the West Bank remain a recurring source of friction between Palestinian communities and Israeli authorities.

The incident adds to longstanding tensions over land use in the West Bank, an area whose legal and political status remains at the center of the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict.