🚨 Loading... Read More

Israel uproots thousands of grapevines in Hebron to expand settler road

Political Leaning Analysis
Left Center Right
Score: -0.29Center / Neutral




Israel uproots thousands of grapevines in Hebron to expand settler road





Submitted by
Sari Jaradat
on
Wed, 05/06/2026 - 13:06






Palestinians lament mass bulldozing of vineyards - central to Hebron life - in what they say is an attempt to push farmers off their land


A Palestinian man inspects damaged grapevines after Israeli forces began bulldozing vineyards in Hebron, occupied West Bank, 5 May 2026 (Sari Jaradat/MEE)
Off
Zuhur Tarwa stood in shock as Israeli army markers appeared across her vineyard, declaring it confiscated.

The 68-year-old Palestinian had spent years tending the land with her two daughters in the fertile Baqa’a Valley, east of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. 

Their 200 grapevines once filled the plot with broad green leaves, promising a strong harvest.

Before that could happen, the confiscation order arrived - followed soon after by bulldozers.

“They razed the entire land, uprooting the grapevines and other crops,” Tarwa told Middle East Eye. 

“We are left with nothing but sorrow at this sight.”

Her family’s loss is part of a wider pattern unfolding across Hebron, an area long known for producing some of the region’s finest grapes.

The Israeli army recently confiscated large swathes of agricultural land to expand Route 60, a major settlement road linking key settlements across the West Bank. 

The project to expand the road, which stretches for 235km, has involved the seizure of tens of thousands of dunams of Palestinian-owned land.



Zuhur Tarwa holds a destroyed grapevine after Israeli forces bulldozed her vineyard in Hebron, occupied West Bank, 5 May 2026 (Sari Jaradat/MEE).


Bulldozing began earlier this week in parts of Hebron, with local sources reporting that it is affecting at least 400 dunams of vineyards, and some 40,000 grapevines.

Among them were the 2.8 dunams belonging to Tarwa’s daughters. Nearby land owned by her brother-in-law has already been reduced from a cultivated vineyard to bare ground.

“Nothing can stop their plans or their bulldozers,” she said. “We can’t do anything - only grieve.”

Heart of Hebron life

In Hebron, grapes are more than a crop. They are a symbol of identity, rooted in centuries of cultivation, and a vital source of income for many families.

After olives, grapes are Palestine’s second-largest agricultural product, with dozens of families in al-Baqa’a relying on them for their livelihoods. 

Spanning around 10,000 dunams, the area is among the most fertile vineyard regions in the West Bank, stretching from Beit Einun and Bani Na’im to the Qizoun area.

For years, Israeli forces and settlers have targeted the olive harvest in Palestine, destroying a key source of livelihood for many families. 

In recent years, that pressure has extended to vineyards, particularly in Hebron and Bethlehem.

The latest bulldozing came just before the grape harvest season, compounding families’ losses.

Anti-settlement activist Atta Jaber, who owns land in the area, said the measures are intended to push farmers off their land.

'I care for my grapevines like my own children'

- Atta Jaber, anti-settlement activist

His family has cultivated vineyards there for more than a century. In 1970, part of their land was seized for the Kiryat Arba settlement, followed by further losses in 1985 with the construction of the Kharsina settlement.

The impact extended beyond farmland, with homes demolished and families displaced.

“In 1995, Israeli bulldozers suddenly began paving the settlement road known as Route 60 through our land,” Jaber told MEE. “This was our third loss after the establishment of the two settlements, and it cut off the livelihoods of approximately 800 Palestinian families”.

Before the uprooting, his vineyard generated at least 60,000 shekels (around $20,000) a year.

“I care for my grapevines like my own children,” he said. “We have no other source of income - this is how we were raised, and what we teach our children: that the land is everything, our livelihood and our future.

“But Israel is systematically destroying all of that.”

Systematic targeting of farmland

The targeting of trees in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers has escalated in recent years, moving beyond isolated incidents into what appears to be a more frequent and systematic pattern across several areas.

According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, around 35,273 olive, grape and fig trees were uprooted, damaged or poisoned in 2025 alone - a figure that underscores the impact on farmers’ livelihoods and the wider agricultural landscape.

Olive groves under siege: Palestinian families face Israeli violence during harvest
Read More »

Tens of thousands of dunams across the West Bank and Gaza are cultivated with grapes.

In Hebron and its northern region alone, cultivation covers around 37,500 dunams, according to Mahmoud Fatafta, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture.

In the Baqa’a area specifically, about 1,300 dunams are planted with vines, producing approximately 13,000 tonnes of grapes and around 1,000 tonnes of leaves, he told MEE.

However, officials say the sector faces major challenges, including ongoing land confiscations that have reduced cultivated areas, as well as repeated settler attacks on vineyards and farmers.

Fatafta said around 200 dunams have already been bulldozed and uprooted in al-Baqa’a, warning that the attacks are continuing in what he described as a systematic targeting of vineyards.

Occupation

Fayha Shalash


Ramallah, occupied Palestine




Hebron
‘Left with nothing but sorrow’: Israel uproots Hebron grapevines to expand settler road
News

Post Date Override
0


Update Date
Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19



Update Date Override
0




Story Timeline

Wed 23:08 - ANSA Main
Lillo in Sanremo
Sat 01:19 - ANSA Main
Sanremo 2026, the evening of covers
Mon 02:00 - La Repubblica (IT)
Sal Da Vinci's popular miracle
Wed 16:41 - The Telegraph
Water wars: the final escalation?
Thu 01:18 - Middle East Eye
Trump vows to bring Iran back to 'Stone Ages'
Thu 03:01 - Al-Monitor
Takeaways from Trump's speech on Iran
Sun 05:07 - Al Jazeera English
Trump’s unpopular war on Iran
Mon 16:39 - The Hill
Trump’s Iran ultimatum nears
Mon 21:45 - The Hill
Trump's looming deadline for Iran
Wed 12:00 - UN News All
Hundreds feared dead in Lebanon strikes
Wed 15:01 - Al Jazeera English
Israel strikes central Beirut without warning
Wed 21:59 - Al Jazeera English
Americans question Trump’s instinct on Iran war
Thu 00:55 - Middle East Eye
Syria condemns Israeli assault on Lebanon
Thu 05:19 - Middle East Eye
Israel renews attacks on southern Lebanon
Thu 12:59 - Middle East Eye
Lebanon calls for direct talks with Israel
Fri 11:00 - Al-Monitor
Giving birth in a shelter in Israel
Tue 11:48 - Al Jazeera English
Who controls the Strait of Hormuz?
Tue 15:45 - Aftenposten (NO)
Trump opens for early talks with Iran
Tue 15:54 - Financial Times
Trump says Meloni lacks courage
Tue 17:58 - Tagesschau
Trump calls Meloni "unacceptable"
Tue 22:57 - National Review
Trump vs. the Pope
Wed 03:40 - TVN24 (PL)
Trump 'shocked' by Meloni's behavior
Wed 13:32 - Washington Examiner
Trump says China agreed not to send weapons to Iran
Sat 10:48 - Al Jazeera English
Hormuz: Spin in the Strait
Sat 10:48 - Al Jazeera
Hormuz: Spin in the Strait
Sat 11:55 - Al Jazeera English
Gunfire reported by vessel in Strait of Hormuz
Mon 15:41 - Washington Examiner
Trump denies Israel pushed US into war with Iran
Tue 04:47 - Middle East Eye
Trump attacks US media over Iran war coverage
Fri 13:03 - Al Jazeera English
Negotiations that enable Israel’s land-grabs

Different Perspectives

ANSA Main
54 articles
ANSA Mondo
11 articles
ANSA Politica
7 articles
ANSA Top News
18 articles
Aftenposten (NO)
5 articles
Al Jazeera
3 articles
Al Jazeera English
127 articles
Al-Monitor
155 articles
BBC Europe
2 articles
BBC Headlines
25 articles
BBC Politics
4 articles
DN (SE)
4 articles
DW
2 articles
DW All
28 articles
DW Top
28 articles
DW World
6 articles
Der Spiegel
3 articles
Die Welt
11 articles
Die Zeit Newsfeed
1 article
El Mundo (ES)
4 articles
El Pais
5 articles
Euronews
60 articles
Financial Times
3 articles
Fox News
49 articles
France 24
69 articles
Gazeta Wyborcza (PL)
1 article
HLN (BE)
4 articles
Handelsblatt Politik
4 articles
La Libre (BE)
2 articles
La Repubblica (IT)
85 articles
Le Figaro
3 articles
Le Monde
1 article
Middle East Eye
221 articles
NPR
10 articles
NRK (NO)
3 articles
NYT Europe
2 articles
National Review
1 article
PBS Newshour
14 articles
Politico EU
18 articles
Rzeczpospolita (PL)
1 article
SRF International
1 article
SVT Nyheter (SE)
3 articles
Sky News (UK)
5 articles
SvD (SE)
1 article
Süddeutsche Zeitung Politik
2 articles
TVN24 (PL)
1 article
Tagesschau
7 articles
The Bulletin (BE)
1 article
The Guardian
12 articles
The Hill
79 articles
The Telegraph
2 articles
UN News All
9 articles
UN News Global
4 articles
UN News Middle East
3 articles
Washington Examiner
53 articles
Washington Post
13 articles
n-tv Politik
3 articles