Palestinian farmers face intensifying danger during the annual olive harvest season, with 160 settler attacks linked to the harvest — resulting in casualties, property damage, or both — recorded over a two-week period in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN emergency aid coordination office, OCHA. During the same period, five Palestinians were killed and over 240 injured by Israeli forces or settler attacks, while record demolitions displaced 96 Palestinians.
UN independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council warned on Monday that the situation could worsen following new Israeli orders for uprooting olive trees and restrictions on farmers in the West Bank. The experts, who are not UN staff and do not receive a salary, urged Israel to guarantee farmers' protection and safe access to their land.
"The olive harvest should be a time when farmers can enjoy, in safety and dignity, the food and livelihoods their nature and land provide, not another season of fear, loss, violence and destruction," the experts said. They called on Israel, stating that "Israel is under an international legal obligation to end its occupation of Palestinian land, immediately cease new settlement activities, evacuate settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory and provide full reparation for the damage caused by its violations, including by returning land and allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes."
The experts also addressed the broader international dimension, stating that "The international community, especially States with power and influence, must exercise maximum pressure to protect Palestinian civilians, halt and reverse the rapidly expanding policies and practices of annexation and ensure accountability for decades of violations of Palestinian rights under international law."
The West Bank developments come alongside continued violence in the Gaza Strip, where OCHA reported 57 Palestinians killed and 319 injured between 29 September and 12 October, bringing total casualties since the October 2025 ceasefire agreement to 1,493 fatalities and 5,299 injuries. Israeli airstrikes, gunfire, shelling, incursions, and demolitions continued, raising concerns of further displacement. Around 950,000 displaced people are living in sites at medium to high risk of flooding, including over 400,000 at high risk, while available shelter supplies reached only 18 per cent of the 294,250 families requiring support for the rainy season. Daily cooked-meal production has declined by 12 per cent to approximately 614,000 amid funding constraints, OCHA said.
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