Al-Khader, Bethlehem District: Israel has been denying residents access to their farmland for two years, destroying the grape-growing sector and inflicting severe economic and cultural harm

Grapes are a key agricultural crop in the West Bank, and the main crop grown by residents of the town of al-Khader, which lies west of Bethlehem. The town’s land once covered about 20,000 dunam (1 dunam = 0.1 hectares), on about 4,000 dunam of it, Israel established three settlements, Elazar, Efrat and Neve Daniel, and five outposts, Giv‘at Hadagan, Derekh HaAvot, Sde Boaz, Giv‘at Hatamar and Havat Eden, all before 7 October 2023.

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In 2005-2006, Israel built the Separation Barrier, cutting off the town of al-Khader from its farmland to the west. In order to reach their land, residents had to pass through underground crossings that Israel built under Route 60. In October 2023, Israel closed two of the three crossings, and they have remained closed to this day. Concrete blocks were placed at the third crossing, but they can be bypassed on foot.

The roughly 7,000 dunam of land that remains available to the town is planted with vineyards, and until 2023, the yield was about 6,000 tons of grapes a year. Grape growing is not only a central source of income for the town’s residents, but also part of local culture and agrarian heritage passed down the generations. The grapes grown by farmers from the town are considered among the finest in the West Bank and include local varieties that have been grown in Palestine for many generations: Zeni, al-Halawani, Batuni, a-Dabuki, a-Shami, al-Marwi, al-Hamdani, Zeni Baladi.

The establishment of the settlements, outposts and the Separation Barrier on village land has greatly impeded residents’ access to their land. In addition, Israel has made access to some of the farmland contingent on permits from the Israeli DCO and coordination with the settlement’s security coordinator. Until 7 October 2023, farmers were allowed to access these plots most days of the year except on Jewish holidays and Saturdays, between 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The number of people allowed in was limited to three from each family that owned a plot, and a guard on behalf of the settlement accompanied the residents’ vehicles to their land.

Since 7 October 2023 – a full ban on accessing land beyond the barrier

From the first day of the war in Gaza, farmers have been banned from accessing their land beyond the Separation Barrier. Most of this land is planted with vineyards, and a smaller part with olive groves and other crops. On the only occasion when the town council managed to coordinate the arrival of some farmers to land near al-Khader but beyond the Separation Barrier, settlement guards came to the area and drove them away. Since then, farmers have been denied access to their land. Farmers who have attempted to access it were assaulted by settlers and even arrested by the military.

The denial of access to farmland has a devastating impact on the income of many residents who make a living from growing and selling grapes, pushing them into poverty. It has also caused severe damage to the vineyards, as grapevines require continuous care including pruning, tying, spraying and tilling. One year of neglect is enough to seriously damage, and even kill, the vines.

In testimonies they gave B’Tselem field researcher ‘Amer ‘Aruri on 24 September 2025, farmers from al-Khader described the last two years, during which they have been denied access to their land:

Sfai a-Din Da’du’, 66, father of six, recounted:

I am a farmer, and I do not know how to do anything other than work the land, but since 7 October 2023, the Israeli occupation army has been preventing me from reaching my land. I have 10 dunam of olive trees in the Khalet al-Fahm area, near which the settlement of Elazar was established; another five dunam of olive trees and three dunam of vineyards in an area called Wadi al-Biyar, near which the settlement of Efrat was established; five dunam in the ‘Ein al-Qasis area; five dunam of olive trees near which the outpost of Sde Boaz was established; 30 dunam of vineyards in the Um Ruqba area, near the Nashash checkpoint (Efrat North) – all these areas are inaccessible to me.

In February 2024, I went to my land in Wadi al-Biyar and did some vine pruning there, and then three military vehicles arrived together with Efrat’s security guards and told me that because of the war in Gaza, I wasn’t allowed to be in the area. Every time I tried to access one of the plots I mentioned, military jeeps showed up, and the soldiers drove me away and threatened to arrest me if I returned there.

In the past, I harvested about 250 tons of grapes every year, which I sold at the market. It is a bitter irony that today I buy grape leaves and grapes at the market, when I used to sell them to consumers. Every year, I’d also produce 10 jerrycans of olive oil for personal consumption for my brothers and me, and today I have to buy oil at the market.

The land was my whole life. I’d wake up early every day to go work in the fields, prune the trees and till the soil. My sons and grandsons would join me, some to help with the work, others to play and hang out. It was true joy, a sense of satisfaction and happiness that is hard to describe. My favorite thing was to make coffee over an open fire and eat a pan of fresh locally grown tomatoes. Today, I’m an unemployed and destitute man.

Mustafa Dar ‘Isa, 61, a father of 10, eight of whom, including five minors, live at home, said:

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I’m a farmer. My five brothers and I have 20 dunam of vineyards and five of olive groves in the Khirbet al-Habun area, near the settlement of Elazar. Before the war in Gaza, we used to access the area in coordination with the Israeli DCO, work the land, harvest the crops and sell them at the market. Every year, we produced about 10 jerrycans of olive oil for our own use, and each of the 20 dunam of vineyards yielded about three tons of grapes, which we sold at the local market in Ramallah for about 3 NIS per kilogram (~ 1 USD), that is, about 3,000 NIS (~ 1,000 USD) for one ton of grapes.

After 7 October 2023, coordination and access to the area stopped. About six months after the war in Gaza began, my brothers, Iyad, 40, Rajeh, 50, and I tried to access our land without coordination, but then Israeli military forces arrived, accompanied by security guards from the settlement of Elazar. The soldiers tied our hands behind our backs, and the three settlement security guards assaulted us, beating and kicking us for several minutes, while the soldiers stood by and watched without intervening. When we were released, the soldiers told us to obey the military order that forbids access to the area, otherwise we’d be arrested.

We have another plot of land, five dunam, near ‘Ein al-Qasis and the Nabi Daniel site, where we grew grapevines and crops such as barley and chickpeas. But since 7 October 2023, my brothers and I have also been banned from going there, due to its proximity to the settlement of Neve Daniel.

The grapevines on our land are several high-quality varieties that are typical of agriculture in al-Khader, and they require care, mainly pruning, right after the harvest. If they’re not tended, even for one year, they dry out, rot and die, and will not bear fruit again. Olive trees can survive for up to three years without care and resume bearing fruit once they are tended again, but grapevines don’t survive. I assume that all the vineyards that farmers have been banned from accessing in the two years since the war in Gaza began have already dried out and died. This is enormous damage for all the farmers, like us, who have lost a primary source of income. Today, my brothers and I are unemployed and live in poverty as a direct result of being denied access to our land.

Mahmoud Dar ‘Isa, 58, a member of a family of 13, including three children, recounted:

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I come from a long line of farmers. I have two plots of land. One plot is about 16 dunam , planted with vineyards, next to which the settlement of Neve Daniel was established. Since 7 October 2023, I have gone there once, but soldiers drove me away from the area and told me there is a military order that bans working or staying on this land during the war in Gaza.

My second plot, which has 15 dunam of vineyards and peach trees, is near the village of Husan, and the outpost of Sde Boaz was established near it. I have a small cinderblock house there. Before the war, I used to harvest about 15 to 20 tons of grapes every year and sell them at the local market.

In February 2024, I came to the area to prune the trees and grapevines, and then two military vehicles arrived, and the soldiers told me I wasn’t allowed to enter the area during the war in Gaza.

About a year later, in January 2025, I returned to the area. The military came again, and soldiers detained me under the military watchtower at the Nashash checkpoint, blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back with zip ties. They didn’t beat me, but I had to sit on the ground for three hours without moving.

In March 2025, during Ramadan, I decided to try going to my land again. The military came then, too. The soldiers forced me to lie on my stomach, tied my hands behind my back with zip ties and left me like that for about half an hour, swearing obscenities at me. Then they blindfolded me with a piece of cloth, took me again to the military watchtower at the Nashash checkpoint and again made me sit on the ground for three hours.

In June 2025, I went to the area with three of my sons, but the military showed up immediately. When we saw them coming, we fled toward the wadi leading to the village of Nahalin, and I called a friend from the village of Husan who came and drove us back to where I had parked my car.

The ban on harvesting grapes is making me lose about 50,000 NIS (~ 16,000 USD) a year and impoverishing me. I am desperate, frustrated and bored. In the past, I used to go to the land almost every day at dawn and stay there until noon. Sometimes I would go out in the afternoon and stay until sunset. It saddens me greatly that I’m denied access to land that wasn’t just a respectable source of income for me, but also a mental and emotional connection to my ancestors’ land.

Ashraf Jaber, 48, father of five, recounted:

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I work for an IT company, and I also farm. My brothers and I have 25 dunam of land near Route 60, close to the settlement of Neve Daniel. The land has grapevines, olives, almonds and figs.

Until 7 October 2023, my family and I could reach our land, work it and harvest the crops without any problem. A few days after the war in Gaza began, I went with my mother, 70, and my sister, 46, to work the land. The Neve Daniel security guards must have reported our presence to the army, because after about half an hour, a military vehicle arrived with four armed soldiers, who demanded to see our ID cards and told us that there was a military order banning us from being on our land during the war. Since that day, we haven’t dared return to our land. My brother Islam, 42, and I were assaulted by settlers and soldiers even before the war, in September 2023. Since it began, the settlers and the military have been even more violent toward Palestinians; we don’t want to experience the violence and injuries we suffered then again.

This land also served as a family space for leisure and recreation, along with the enjoyment of the crops. In the past, we used to produce about five jerrycans of olive oil, five tons of grapes, 200 kilograms of figs, 70 kilograms of sage and 100 kilograms of almonds from our land every year. We kept some of the yield for our own use and sold some in the markets in Bethlehem and Ramallah, except for the olive oil, which was all for our own use. Now we have to buy everything at the market. I am sad that my children don’t get to go to our land, play there and make happy memories, as I used to do in my childhood and youth. I’m also very worried about the condition of the land: the olive, almond and fig trees haven’t been pruned for two years and have likely rotted and been damaged, and the grapevines require yearly care – the grapes have surely dried up and the vines have probably already died.