UN agencies, together with other international NGOs, are calling on Israel
to better protect Palestinian farmers from violence by Israeli
settlers, as they bring in their traditional olive harvest -
crucial to livelihoods - and ensure families can access their
land “freely and safely”.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Office for Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that, between 7
October and 2 November, it had recorded 33 incidents where people
who were known, or believed to be Israeli settlers, attacked
Palestinians or damaged their trees or produce.
These incidents have led to 25 Palestinians being injured, 1,000
olive trees burnt, or otherwise damaged, and the theft of large
amounts of produce.
In some incidents, the statement declares, Israeli Security
Forces intervened in clashes between Palestinians and settlers,
including by shooting tear gas canisters and rubber bullets,
resulting in the injury of olive harvesters, and forcing them to
leave the groves.
More olive branches needed
Olive farmers face severe restrictions placed on them by the
Israeli authorities, making it extremely difficult for them to
make a living from their crop, said OCHA.
Those who have farmland near some settlements are given only
two to four days to access it throughout the entire season,
which makes it hard to effectively harvest them, makes the
trees less productive, and means that settlers have more
opportunity to inflict damage on trees.
Gaining any kind of access to olive groves behind the Israeli
West Bank barrier is a challenge: farmers need a special permit,
and most applications are rejected for various bureaucratic
reasons, such as failure to prove land ownership, noted the
agency.
COVID concerns
Palestinians attempting to get permission to farm their land have
to visit overcrowded permit offices, leading to concerns of
COVID-19 transmission. As a
response, limits on the number of times farmers can access land
beyond the barrier were lifted, following legal action, some 17
days into the season.
However, the UN, and international NGO’s, are calling for the
easing of more restrictions, and for the Israeli Government to
abide by its obligations under international law, to allow
Palestinians timely and sufficient access to their olive groves,
protection from violence, damage and theft, and for those who
commit crimes against them to be held accountable.
