Farmers in Beit Ummar Face Growing Pressures From Settler Attacks, Water Shortages and Rising Costs

HEBRON / PNN /

Farmers in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, are facing increasingly difficult agricultural and economic conditions amid settler attacks, restrictions on access to farmland, water shortages, rising production costs and limited marketing opportunities for local products.

Agriculture, particularly grape cultivation and sheep farming, is the main source of livelihood for many families in the area. Farmers and activists say the continuing challenges threaten their ability to maintain their land and continue working it.

Ibrahim Al-Sabarneh, a farmer from Beit Ummar, said the land is his main source of income and a vital part of his family’s livelihood. His family depends on growing grapes and selling both the fruit and grape leaves, in addition to raising sheep.

He said recent settler attacks have directly affected their agricultural work and their ability to reach their land and earn a living. Farming provides them with seasonal income, particularly during the summer.

During the summer, farmers focus on cultivating and caring for grapevines and selling their grapes and leaves. In winter, they clear and prepare their land for the next season, replace damaged trees and prune grapevines.

Al-Sabarneh said farmers also struggle to obtain basic agricultural supplies, including pesticides, animal feed and water. He said water reaches the area between Beit Ummar and Halhul only once a week, for between one and two hours.

Farmers are therefore forced to buy water and transport it in tankers to meet the needs of their land and livestock. Al-Sabarneh said providing water tankers and storage tanks during the winter could help farmers store water and secure a more stable supply for irrigating trees and watering their sheep.

But the difficulties facing farmers in Beit Ummar extend beyond attacks and restrictions. They also include limited institutional support, a lack of protection and weak marketing opportunities for locally produced goods.

Yousef Abu Maria, coordinator of the Popular Committees in the southern West Bank, said Beit Ummar is an agricultural town where farming is an essential part of residents’ lives and livelihoods. Many families depend on growing trees and a range of agricultural crops.

Abu Maria said that when harvest season begins, farmers face strong competition from Israeli products entering Palestinian markets. He said Palestinian produce, despite its quality, suffers from weak marketing and insufficient support.

He said farmers in Beit Ummar do not receive adequate support from government institutions and agricultural authorities. Some programmes that previously provided farmers with olive, grape and other seedlings have been suspended for about two years, he said, arguing that the absence of such programmes has weakened farmers’ ability to remain on and cultivate their land.

A farmer who owns only a few dunams of land and lives under restrictions on movement and access to agricultural areas needs direct government and national support to preserve both the land and his source of income, Abu Maria said.

He called for stronger protection of Palestinian agricultural products and for limiting the entry of Israeli products into Palestinian markets when locally produced alternatives are available. He questioned what happens to Palestinian crops that farmers spend an entire season producing only to face difficulties selling them.

Abu Maria also said road closures, security restrictions and checkpoints imposed by Israeli forces and settlers further increase the difficulties faced by farmers, while Palestinian markets are simultaneously filled with Israeli products, adding to the economic pressure on local producers.

He called on the government to introduce a package of measures to support the agricultural sector, including providing fertilisers and agricultural medicines, supporting wells and water sources, supplying spraying equipment and water tankers, and allowing farmers to construct wells on their own land to meet their water needs.

Such measures, he said, would strengthen farmers’ ability to remain on their land and maintain their connection to it despite Israeli restrictions.

Anwar Ibrahim Al-Sabarneh, a farmer from Beit Ummar, said conditions for farmers in the area had become extremely difficult, mainly because of two factors: settler attacks and the rising cost of agricultural inputs amid declining employment and income opportunities.

Al-Sabarneh said farmers face continued pressure from settlers on their land and farms, limiting their ability to reach and work them. At the same time, they need agricultural medicines and fertilisers but lack sufficient sources of income to afford these basic supplies.

He called on government authorities and relevant institutions to support farmers by providing agricultural inputs, supporting crops and trees, and assisting them in confronting settler attacks. The lack of support, he said, is worsening their hardship and threatening their ability to continue cultivating their land.

Al-Sabarneh said he and his brothers own about 100 sheep in the Jabal Saba area, but restrictions prevent them from taking the animals out to graze or securing sufficient feed. He said settlers are seeking to push farmers out of the area.

He said settler attacks extend beyond restrictions on farmers’ movement and access to their land and include damage to agricultural crops.

According to Al-Sabarneh, settlers’ sheep entered a wheat field several days ago and damaged the crop before later entering a vineyard and damaging the grapevines.

He said such incidents cause significant losses for farmers, adding that damage to a grape harvest can wipe out an entire season’s work at a time when farmers are already facing difficult economic conditions and insufficient support.

This video was produced as part of the Crisis Media Support Project implemented by Palestine News Network (PNN) in cooperation with Palestine Press Operator.