Please refer to the attached file. Context overview The olive harvest is a major component of the West Bank’s agricultural economy, rural livelihoods and cultural life. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that around 750, 000 dunums are planted with olive trees in the West Bank. Olive oil accounted for around 15 per cent of agricultural GDP in a 2020 sector benchmark, while OCHA has historically estimated that some 80, 000–100, 000 families rely on olives and olive oil as a primary or secondary source of income. The sector’s annual economic value has been estimated at approximately US$160–200 million. Beyond its economic importance, the harvest is an annual social and cultural event linking families and communities to their land across generations. The 2026 harvest is taking place in an increasingly coercive environment characterized by escalating settler violence, settlement and outpost expansion, growing movement and access restrictions, and measures that limit Palestinians’ access to agricultural land. These trends heighten protection risks for farmers and agricultural communities, undermine agricultural livelihoods and productive capacity, and increase risks of dispossession and displacement. In preparation for the 2026 olive harvest, the Protection Cluster and Food Security Sector, with support from the West Bank Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG), prepared and conducted three workshops across the West Bank, bringing together community representatives, humanitarian organisations, local institutions and other stakeholders to review anticipated challenges during the harvest season and identify Protection and Food Security Sector (FSS) response priorities. Geographic working groups examined challenges facing farmers and local communities across the West Bank, focusing on safe access to agricultural land and the protection of agricultural livelihoods.
oPt: Protection And Food Security and Livelihoods | West Bank Olive Harvest 2026 | Preparatory Workshop Outcomes
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