GENEVA (19 October 2026) – Palestinian
farmers in the occupied West Bank face renewed threats to
their livelihoods, cultural rights, food security and food
sovereignty as the annual olive harvest gets underway, UN
experts* said today, urging Israel to guarantee their
protection and safe access to their
land.
“Palestinian farmers must be protected and
able to access their land safely. Yet, year after year, the
violence, destruction and restrictions intensify,” the
experts said.
“The olive harvest should be a time when
farmers can enjoy, in safety and dignity, the food and
livelihoods their nature and land provide, not another
season of fear, loss, violence and
destruction.”
During the 2025 olive harvest, 178
settler attacks linked to the harvest were documented across
the occupied West Bank, affecting 88 Palestinian towns and
villages, the highest number of locations recorded since
2020. More than 6,000 trees and saplings were vandalised,
nearly double the number in 2024 and the highest in six
years.
The experts were alarmed by orders issued by
Israeli military authorities in September 2026 for the
removal of vegetation from approximately 339,000 square
metres (84 acres) of Palestinian agricultural land in the
northern and central occupied West Bank, including areas
planted with olive trees in Jenin, Qabatiya and Beit
Rima.
The orders include provisions for the uprooting
of olive trees and impose extremely short periods for
landowners to remove vegetation and file
objections.
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“The olive harvest is an essential source
of food, income and livelihood for thousands of Palestinian
families, and is deeply rooted in Palestinian cultural and
agricultural heritage,” the experts said. “Olive trees take
years to mature and can sustain families for generations.
Their destruction deprives families of far more than a
single harvest: it undermines local food systems, cultural
practices and ways of life, as well as the right to food and
the food sovereignty of Palestinian communities.”
The
experts repeated concerns about continued violence,
intimidation and access restrictions imposed by Israeli
forces on farmers, and about reports of olive groves being
uprooted in several areas, including by Israeli military
bulldozers near Ramallah shortly before the
harvest.
They warned that the situation could worsen
as Israeli authorities increasingly revoke or fail to issue
the ‘prior coordination’ permits required for farmers to
access their land in certain areas. This year, the Israeli
military modified its policy, preventing Palestinians from
obtaining permits or harvesting olives on land classified by
Israel as ‘State land’, including plots containing olive
trees that Palestinian farmers have traditionally harvested
for generations.
Food security in the occupied West
Bank has long been under severe strain, driven by
intensifying settler attacks that have displaced mainly
Bedouin and herding communities, and by Israel’s continued
withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues, which has
sharply eroded household incomes.
The experts urged
Israel to ensure that its forces protect Palestinian farmers
from settler attacks, refrain from interference with their
access to land and to comply with its obligations under
international law.
“Israel is under an international
legal obligation to end its occupation of Palestinian land,
immediately cease new settlement activities, evacuate
settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory and provide
full reparation for the damage caused by its violations,
including by returning land and allowing displaced
Palestinians to return to their homes,” the experts
said.
“The international community, especially
States with power and influence, must exercise maximum
pressure to protect Palestinian civilians, halt and reverse
the rapidly expanding policies and practices of annexation
and ensure accountability for decades of violations of
Palestinian rights under international law,” they
said.
Notes:
*The
experts:
- Sofía Monsalve Suárez,
the
Special Rapporteur on the right to
food - Alexandra Xanthaki, the
Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural
rights - Elena Carolina Díaz Galán,
the
Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human
rights - Paula Gaviria, the
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally
displaced persons - Francesca Albanese,
the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the
Palestinian territory occupied since
1967 - Reem Alsalem, the
Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its
causes and consequences - Shalmali Guttal,
the
Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people
working in rural
areas
