❝We’re afraid that if we stop cultivating our land, we will lose ownership of it. It will be declared as ‘state land’ and we will lose it to the settlers.❞ 

These were the words of Jamil, when we met him in 2013.

His village, Al Mughayyir, has faced humanitarian impacts as a result of the establishment of a nearby settelement outpost in 1998.

❝Our olive grove used to give us about 30 jerry cans of olive oil a year,❞ Jamil said. ❝The income we made covered all the expenses of maintaining the land; we were self-sufficient.

❝But the settlers destroyed my olive trees. Now we have to cover all the expenses ourselves, hiring tractors and workers, just to hold on to our land. We’re surviving on the money that our sons abroad send to us, otherwise we’d be depending on charity and handouts.❞

Palestinian families whose agricultural land is in the vicinity of the outpost have been subject to violent attacks by Israeli settlers when accessing their plots.

Attacks have included physical assault and the damage to trees and property.

The Israeli army has also imposed restrictions on the access of Palestinians to some of the agricultural and grazing lands in the vicinity of the outpost.