In the first half of 2025 alone, there were 757 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage – a 13 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
“Two weeks after the start of the 2025 harvest, we have already seen serious attacks by armed settlers against Palestinian men, women, children and foreign solidarity activists,” he added.
Lost crops, destroyed lands
According to OHCHR data, in 2023 96,000 dunums (around 9,600 hectares) of olive groves remained unharvested, causing more than 10 million dollars in losses for Palestinian farmers, a trend that continued until 2024.
“Direct land destruction is also increasing“Sunghay said. “Settlers have burned groves, chainsawed olive trees and destroyed houses and agricultural infrastructure.”
He underlined the broader cost of the occupation and noted that from October 2023, More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed. by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank, while thousands of people have been displaced by attacks, movement restrictions and home demolitions.
‘Livelihood and lineage’
“Here the olive tree is never just a tree,” Sunghay reflects. “It is a livelihood and a lineage, a resilience and an economy, and a historical vein that connects Palestinians to the land.”
said that up to 100,000 families They depend on the olive harvest for their livelihood, describing it as “the economic backbone of rural Palestinian communities.”
OHCHR, he said, is working with partners to strengthen monitoring, provide legal assistance and maintain a protective presence for farmers and landowners.
Mr. Sunghay warned that the rise in settler violence is occurring “in the context of a Israel’s accelerated land grab”, and officials “openly declared their intention to annex the entire West Bank.”
He reiterated that Israel “has a legal obligation to end the occupation and reverse the annexation” and urged Member States to “exert maximum pressure to protect civilians, stop and reverse these policies, and ensure accountability for decades of violations.”
“And yes,” he concluded, “start with the olives.”