The struggle to preserve the Palestinian olive and date harvest

toggle caption Maya Levin for NPR

AL MAZRA AS-SHARQIYA, West Bank — Olives and dates are the pride and joy of Palestinian farmers, and autumn is the time of year they're picked.

But this season, the simple act of picking olives is dangerous.

Extremist Israeli settlers have been carrying out attacks on olive harvesters at levels not seen in years. Israel has deported some U.S. volunteers trying to defend the harvesters.

Date farmers have been spared that violence but face other challenges: Israeli army searches, Palestinian thieves, drought, and a war over water with settlers.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a season of festivity is overshadowed by fear.

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Israeli settlers target cars and journalists

Journalists with Reuters and Agence France Press have been attacked by Israeli settlers during this olive harvest, the Foreign Press Association in Israel and the Palestinian Territories said in a statement Monday.

On Oct. 10, settlers with sticks beat a veteran AFP photographer filming the olive harvest, pelting his car with stones and setting it on fire, with Israeli forces refusing to intervene and firing rubber bullets and tear gas at olive pickers and accompanying activists, the FPA said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Nov.