Between October and December of 2025, B’Tselem documented a series of attacks on farmers and crop destruction in the farmland of Palestinian communities in the northern Jordan Valley, including al-Farisiyah, which consists of Ehmeir, Nab’ al-Ghazal and the Khallet Khader area, where residents were forced out in August 2024, Khirbet Yarza, al-Burj and Khirbet a-Deir, as well as crop destruction in the fields of the village of Bardalah.
The incidents presented here are only a few examples of a broad assault on Palestinian residents of the Northern Jordan Valley and local farmers. The reports reveal a recurring pattern deployed by settlers, which includes ousting Palestinians from their farmland and pastureland, destroying crops and taking over land and water sources to deprive them of their livelihoods, namely shepherding and seasonal agriculture, much of which is intended to be used as animal feed. Settler takeovers of land and water, coupled with the destruction of crops, are undermining these communities’ means of subsistence and effectively preventing them from maintaining their way of life.
State-backed settler attacks on shepherds and farmers, including denied access to land, are part of a broader government policy to force Palestinians out of the Jordan Valley, which authorities carry out by additional means, such as false arrests, restrictions on movement, denied access to pasture, confiscation of agricultural equipment, demolition of agricultural facilities and more.
Land takeovers and denial of Palestinian farmers’ access to their fields
In some cases, settlers were documented plowing or sowing privately owned Palestinian farmland, and at times ejecting Palestinian farmers who came to cultivate their land. For example, on 5 December 2025, settlers plowed about 80 dunam (1 dunam = 0.1 hectares) of Palestinian land used by residents of al-Burj to grow winter crops, used, in part, for animal feed. The Palestinian residents stated that they had avoided plowing their lands due to fear of settler harassment. On that day, 5 December 2025, settlers ejected Palestinian farmers who tried to sow their land and forced them to stop farming work in the Khallet Khader area in al-Farisiyah. In another incident, on 7 December 2025, a group of settlers invaded private land east of the Khallet Khader area, cultivated by residents of al-Farisiyah, Nab’ al-Ghazal, and proceeded to sow and plow dozens of dunam.
In early December, several incidents of settlers chasing shepherds and farmers and driving them out of pastureland and cultivated fields were documented in the Khirbet Yarza area. In some cases, the settlers threatened to hurt them if they returned. According to the residents, they have since been afraid to access their land, and some of it has remained uncultivated.
Damage to water sources, agricultural infrastructure and crops
In several cases, settlers damaged water infrastructure used to irrigate agricultural land, effectively preventing cultivation. For example, on 19 November 2025, settlers vandalized water lines and valves on the Qa’un plain north of Bardalah, damaging about 1,350 meters of pipes used to irrigate some 800 dunam of agricultural land.
On 5 December 2025, settlers vandalized water lines that carried water from a spring in the Khirbet a-Deir area, east of the town of ‘Ein al-Beida, used to irrigate about 50 dunam of farmland. According to residents, the spring is the only source of water in the area, and, therefore, the damage to the water lines prevents them from irrigating the crops. In addition, on 30 November 2025, settlers vandalized water lines, agricultural plastic sheeting and irrigation systems used for growing corn, fava beans and other crops in western Khallet Khader. The next day, 31 December 2025, settlers drove vehicles over cornfields spanning about 11 dunam in eastern Khallet Khader, causing severe damage, estimated at thousands of dollars, to crops and irrigation systems.
Another common practice is grazing sheep, goats and cattle in privately owned Palestinian fields and groves. For example, on 2 December 2025, settlers grazed sheep in a private plot in al-Farisiyah Ehmeir and damaged the crops. In Yarza, on 5 December 2025, settlers broke olive and fig saplings and caused damage to agricultural property, and on 8 December 2025, settlers brought a cattle herd into an olive grove where the animals trampled and destroyed dozens of olive trees.