WCC NEWS: Olive harvesters in Taybeh—only remaining Christian community in West Bank—suffer violence and harassment

During olive harvest, the village of Taybeh—the only remaining Christian community in the West Bank—has been suffering violence and harassment by settlers. Olive harvest in Taybeh, 2026. Photo: WCC-EAPPI 02 November 2026 During olive harvest, the village of Taybeh—the only remaining Christian community in the West Bank—has been suffering violence and harassment by settlers. Six hundred seventy two incidents of settler violence were reported between 23 September and 23 October, during the olive harvest in the West Bank, according to the Yesh Din rights group. This amounts to an average of more than 25 incidents per day that have been taking place in 194 Palestinian communities across the West Bank.  The violence against Palestinian communities has brought an atmosphere of fear and economic loss in Taybeh, as a remote village where Christians amount to small portion of the Palestinian community.  The attacks include 135 incidents of physical violence, 106 incidents of blocking Palestinians from harvesting their olive trees, 176 incidents of theft and property damage, and 49 incidents of tree vandalism. Those on the ground with the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel participated in the harvest with local families.  On 22 October, accompaniers visited the village of Taybeh to harvest olives. “The owner has 1,500 olive trees; the age of them is about 500 to 600 years,” reported the accompaniers. “The harvesting time this year has been moved forward about two weeks.” Normally the season begins in the beginning of November; some days of rain are preferred to lift the quantity of olive oil. “But this year, in all olive tree areas of the West Bank, there is a lot of violence and destruction of olive plantations by settlers, so they decided to begin earlier in order to harvest as many olives as possible,” reported the accompaniers. “This community as well was forbidden to enter the fields: five army jeeps came with about 30 soldiers and chased the farmers from their land.” Palestinian Christian farmers refused to be interviewed to tell their story, for fear of reprisal by settlers.  The army was in the village from 9 am to 3 pm to make sure nobody would return to their land. “We were very much afraid that this time again the army would come, so we were working under time pressure,” reported the accompaniers. “Last year the farmers also had attacks, but less than this year.” The olive harvest was only 40% of the average amount due to bad weather conditions and also frequent destruction of trees by settlers. “They came with sheep, goats, cows, and even camels to the olive trees; the animals ate everything, leaving only the blank branches,” reported the accompaniers. “Frequently the settlers stole things, even money out of the village.” Nonetheless, the accompaniers helped complete the harvest. “The owner was very happy to have us helping him and would very much appreciate if we would come again soon for olive harvesting,” concluded the accompaniers.  Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem condemn attack during olive harvest See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland