Palestinian farmers rebuild after settler attacks in West Bank

Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank are rebuilding greenhouses and continuing to cultivate their land despite repeated attacks and destruction by Israeli settlers, according to Al-Jazeera on the 31st of August.

Farmers in Burin, near Nablus, are part of the Burin Land and Farming Cooperative, which brings together about 25 families working on roughly 25,000 square metres of farmland.

The cooperative’s five greenhouses were destroyed by settlers in July after an Israeli settler brought livestock onto the farmland. The damage included destroyed plastic sheeting and irrigation systems, while about 9,000 tomato seedlings that had been purchased for planting died after the greenhouses were destroyed.

The farmers said the losses have placed additional pressure on families who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. The cooperative has also lost more than 1,500 olive and other trees, while much of the wheat planted this year was burned before it could be harvested, according to cooperative member Ghassan Najjar.

The farmers face pressure from both settler attacks and Israeli military restrictions. Najjar said much of Burin’s farmland is now designated as closed military zones, limiting Palestinians’ access to their own agricultural land.

Despite the repeated destruction, members of the cooperative continue returning to their fields. Najjar described their approach as a cycle of leaving when Israeli forces arrive and returning when they leave.

The cooperative was established in 2020 and has expanded from five members to about 25, including 17 women. It aims not only to produce food but also to strengthen local food production and help families become more self-sufficient.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded 1,418 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage across the West Bank during the first seven months of 2026. Al Jazeera reported that the figure was on course to exceed the previous year’s record of 1,836 attacks.

For the farmers of Burin, rebuilding has therefore become both an economic necessity and a way of maintaining their connection to their land despite continuing violence and restrictions.

Al-Jazeera, Maghrebi.