Seven independent UN human rights experts have warned of escalating attacks by Israeli occupation forces and settlers, and violations against Palestinian farmers in the West Bank, which pose a threat to their livelihoods and food security as they attempt to secure them, and called for an end to these violations.
The UN News Centre reported that the experts said in a press statement on Monday that Palestinian farmers are facing a continuous escalation of violence, destruction, and restrictions, noting the documentation of 178 settler attacks linked to the olive harvest season in 2025, affecting 88 Palestinian towns and villages, with more than 6,000 trees and saplings vandalized, an increase of nearly double compared to 2024.
The experts appointed by the Human Rights Council expressed concern over orders issued by Israeli occupation authorities last September to remove vegetation from approximately 339,000 square meters of agricultural land in the northern and central West Bank, including olive-growing areas in Jenin, Qabatiya, and Beit Rima.
They emphasized that cutting down olive trees is not just a loss of a seasonal crop, but deprives thousands of families of food and income sources, undermines agricultural and cultural heritage and local food systems, pointing to the continued attacks by settlers, tree uprooting, and obstruction of farmers' access to their lands.
The experts noted that Palestinian food security is under increasing pressure due to settler attacks that have contributed to the displacement of Bedouin and pastoral communities, and the continued withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues, which has exacerbated the decline in family incomes.
They affirmed that Israel bears an international legal obligation to end its occupation of Palestinian land, immediately halt new settlement activities, evacuate settlers from occupied Palestinian land, and provide full compensation for damages resulting from its violations, including the return of land and allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
The experts also called on the international community, especially influential and powerful states, to exert maximum pressure to protect Palestinian civilians and halt and reverse the trajectory of "annexation policies and practices" that are rapidly expanding, and to ensure accountability for violations of Palestinian rights over the decades.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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