‘Destroying agriculture is the purpose’: How Israel is drying up the West Bank’s most fertile farmlands

Agriculture in the northern West Bank is teetering on the brink of collapse due to the combined pressures of land confiscation and the systematic destruction of water wells. The Atouf area, located in the Tubas governorate and long regarded as the region’s "breadbasket," has become a focal point for attacks on critical water infrastructure. Residents report that settler raids on water lines are being complemented by Israeli military infrastructure projects, including the construction of roads that plow directly through active Palestinian farmland.

For the past four months, thousands of Palestinian farmers in the Atouf plain have been cut off from irrigation water. The crisis has deepened as the Israeli army has issued demolition orders for existing wells, executing some of these orders in recent weeks. According to former Tubas mayor Sameer Bisharat, between 70 and 80 percent of the population in Tammoun and surrounding villages depend on farming for their livelihoods, a situation exacerbated by the Israeli revocation of work permits for Palestinians.

The scale of the threat spans over 85,000 dunams (8,500 hectares) of land held by the communities of Tammoun, Atouf, and Ras al-Ahmar. While Palestinians were cultivating roughly 30,000 dunams earlier this year, recent military actions threaten the viability of agriculture for hundreds of families. Bisharat noted that whenever farmers attempt to repair damaged water lines, they are ordered by the Israeli military to cease work and leave the area, effectively leaving the fields to wither.

Durgham Muhammad, a farmer in Atouf who owns 400 dunams of land including greenhouses and fields of wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, and various fruits, described the situation as hopeless. Previously employing 30 workers, Muhammad now faces the demolition of his well, which was his primary source of irrigation. He stated that the new military road project will soon render his entire property inaccessible, stripping him of his only means of income and leaving him with no alternative profession.

Experts such as Palestinian geographer Khalil Tafakji suggest that the Israeli takeover of the Atouf plain and eastern Tubas is part of a larger, strategic shift. The construction of a military road and fence network, stretching across the northern West Bank from east of Tammoun to the northern Green Line, creates a new territorial reality. This infrastructure does not align with previous settlement expansion plans but effectively severs Palestinian farmers from essential resources, rendering the long-term survival of their agricultural practices increasingly impossible.