Olive Harvest: UN Denounces Israeli Attacks on Palestinian Crops as "Tool of Displacement and Dispossession"

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is warning of a surge in Israeli settler violence against Palestinian olive groves. At least 160 attacks have been recorded in two weeks, often with the protection or participation of the Israeli army.

Every autumn, the olive harvest sets the rhythm of life in Palestinian villages across the West Bank. This moment of collective work, sharing, and transmission is also an economic lifeline for thousands of families. This year, once again, it is unfolding under threat. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 160 Israeli settler attacks linked to the harvest season were recorded in the West Bank during the first two weeks of October, "most often under the protection of Israeli forces or with their participation."

An international journalist was assaulted while covering the harvest, and European diplomats were confronted during a visit to a Palestinian village in recent days.

"A Weapon Among Others"

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights describes an arsenal of attacks: the use of live ammunition, arson, the destruction of olive trees—including centuries-old trees—damage to Palestinian property, and the theft of harvests after picking and of agricultural equipment. At the same time, thousands of Palestinian farmers can no longer access their own olive trees due to growing Israeli restrictions, while settlers freely access Palestinian land to harvest the fruit.

For Ajith Sunghay, head of the human rights office in the occupied Palestinian territory, the connection is direct: "Palestinians often say that olive trees are the symbol of their collective existence and their attachment to the land. The attack on the olive harvest cannot be separated from the ongoing and widespread Israeli assault on the existence of Palestinians as a community tied to that land. It is one more weapon among those of displacement and dispossession, adding to the suffering of communities whose rights are violated every day."

A Devastated Agricultural Heritage

Figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture measure the scale of the disaster. Since October 2023, losses to the olive sector in the West Bank and Gaza are estimated at $157 million. In Gaza, 90% of the two million olive trees have been destroyed. In the West Bank, 286,000 trees had been damaged by the end of September 2026, according to an alarming progression: 25,000 trees in 2023, 70,000 in 2024, 91,000 in 2025, and already 100,000 in 2026—even before the harvest had begun.

Beyond Condemnation

The Office of the High Commissioner calls on states to act "beyond condemnations and statements" to protect Palestinian communities. It urges the protection sector—a network of more than one hundred international and national organizations—to strengthen its presence on the ground, intensify its engagement with the most exposed communities, and pressure Israel to guarantee Palestinians' access to their land, protection from violence and intimidation, humanitarian access, accountability, and an end to settlement expansion.

Donors are also called upon to provide sufficient and flexible funding without delay to support community protection, emergency preparedness, legal assistance, and food security and livelihood interventions.