UN experts call for protection of Palestinian farmers in West Bank

UN experts on Monday, October 19, urged Israel to guarantee the protection of Palestinian farmers in the West Bank as settler attacks against them increase at the start of the annual olive harvest.

“Palestinian farmers must be protected and able to access their land in complete safety. Yet, year after year, violence, destruction and restrictions intensify,” underlined seven experts, including the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, and the special rapporteur on the right to food, Sofia Monsalve Suarez.

Violence committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has sharply intensified in recent months, with a new upsurge in recent weeks. The olive harvest "should not turn, once again, into a season marked by fear, loss, violence and destruction", warned these experts mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, but who do not however speak on behalf of the organization.

According to the UN, during the 2025 olive harvest, 178 settler attacks were documented across the West Bank, affecting 88 Palestinian towns and villages. More than 6,000 trees and young plants have been "vandalized", a figure which reaches its highest level in six years.

The experts also said they were "alarmed" by orders they said were issued in September by Israeli military authorities demanding the elimination of vegetation on approximately 339,000 square meters of Palestinian agricultural land. These lands are located in the north and center of the occupied West Bank, including areas planted with olive trees in Jenin, Qabatiya and Beit Rima, near Ramallah.