On the morning of April 25, Aamer and Muhammad Al-Huraini set out to their wheat fields in Wadi Al-Rakhim, a small Palestinian community in Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank. The wheat was not yet ripe for harvesting, but this was their only chance to save it.
Daily incursions by Israeli settlers, who descend from nearby outposts and graze their sheep on the privately-owned Palestinian land, had forced the community to harvest over a month early, accompanied by a dozen Israeli and international activists.
After what many described as the “most dangerous olive season ever” in the West Bank last year, the wheat harvest — another cornerstone of rural Palestinian livelihood and culture — faces a similar threat. Like dozens of other communities in Area C, under full Israeli military and civilian control, Palestinians in Wadi Al-Rakhim live in fear of harassment and attacks by Israeli settlers.
A settler illegally grazes his sheep and shouts at activists, in Wadi Al-Rakhim, April 25, 2025. (Georgia Gee)
Aamer Al-Huraini in his wheat field in Wadi Al-Rakhim, April 25, 2025. (Georgia Gee)
“They descend on us and terrorize our crops — our wheat stocks and olive trees,” Aamer Al-Huraini told +972. “Before October 7, there were already serious issues from the settlers. But after, they exploited the moment of confusion and anger to try and take over everything,” his brother Muhammad added. For over a year, from the start of the war in Gaza until January 2025, not a single member of the Huraini family was able to reach their land.
Last Friday was not the family’s first attempt to harvest this month. A week earlier, settlers from the nearby settlement of Susya chased them off their land, before attempting to burn their crops. That same day, in the neighboring village of Al-Rakeez, settlers shot 60-year-old Sheikh Saeed Rabaa in the leg, which later had to be amputated.
Settlers graze their sheep on private Palestinian land, in Wadi Al-Rakhim, April 25, 2025. (Georgia Gee)
A young Palestinian boy picks wheat in Wadi Al-Rakhim, April 25, 2025. (Georgia Gee)
On Friday morning, the harvest again seemed doomed. Young settlers arrived in packs, bringing a dozen sheep that devoured the wheat. They stomped on crops, shoved the harvesters, and smashed phones. More settlers, dressed in camouflage army gear, soon arrived with assault rifles and pointed them at the Palestinian locals and the activists.
Two hours later, the Israeli army arrived. After fist-bumping the settlers, the commander quietly acknowledged that the land belonged to Palestinians, and told the settlers to step back. They moved to the outskirts, riding a horse and tractor through the community as the harvest scrambled forward.
An Israeli commanding soldier talks to a settler in Wadi Al-Rakhim, April 25, 2025. (Georgia Gee)
A young settler smokes next to an army vehicle on the Al-Hurainis’ land in Wadi Al-Rakhim, April 25, 2025. (Georgia Gee)
“This is a major win, that we were able to harvest [anything at all],” said Adam Rabea, director of the Palestinian territories at Rabbis for Human Rights. “I work across the West Bank, and what we saw represents a kind of success.”
After the community finished picking for the day, four of the Al-Huraini men knelt down in the field and faced south, performing the afternoon prayer. They knew they had another field to do.
Before returning by bus to Jerusalem, the solidarity activists shared tea, coffee, and bread with the Al-Hurainis. As they said goodbye, though, they shared a tacit understanding that the outcome of the day’s harvest was sheer luck. The next day, as expected, the settlers returned.