The Palestinian village of Faqqu’a, situated at the northern tip of the occupied West Bank, is encircled by Israel’s separation barrier from three sides. As such, for the past two decades since the barrier was built, residents of the village have been required to obtain approval from the Israeli military before they can access over 4,000 dunams of their agricultural land (nearly 1,000 acres).

Hussam Abu Salama owns seven dunams (1.7 acres) of olive-planted land in this area. Each year, when the harvest season comes around, he waits for the army to give them the go-ahead. This year, the village council got the green light to begin the harvest on Oct. 16. “I wish we hadn’t received permission,” Abu Salama told +972.