UN says settler attacks, Israeli restrictions block Palestinians from olive harvest

The UN said Thursday that recurrent attacks and Israeli access restrictions are preventing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank from safely harvesting their olive crops. Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a media briefing that Acting Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov traveled to Jenin with diplomats from 13 member states to learn about challenges linked to the olive harvest and the prolonged displacement of Palestinian communities. “In the village of Arraba, they heard from farmers growing olives about recurrent settler attacks, which, combined with Israeli access restrictions, are undermining food security,” said Dujarric. “Our humanitarian partners briefed the delegation on efforts to protect olive pickers, including by accompanying them to the groves and providing legal aid to challenge Israeli-imposed access restrictions.” Dujarric said that Alakbarov indicated that “the harvest season should be a time of celebration, with up to 100,000 Palestinian households depending on olives for their livelihoods, but many Palestinians are being prevented from gathering their crops safely.” “He said that crimes committed against them must stop, and the perpetrators must be held to account by the Israeli authorities,” said Dujarric. “At a clinic in the city of Qabatiya, diplomats met with Palestinians who, since early 2025, have been prevented from returning to Jenin Camp by the Israeli authorities, where many of their homes have been destroyed,” he said. Alakbarov “stressed that more funding is needed so that humanitarian organizations can help the displaced Palestinians and urged Israeli authorities to enable their safe and dignified return,” said Dujarric. The visit came days after Israeli occupiers attacked a delegation that included European diplomats and Catholic Church officials near the town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. Israeli Army Radio reported that seven masked attackers surrounded a diplomatic car and smashed a window of a Belgian consular vehicle, and that Israeli troops and police did not arrive for three hours. The Israeli military described the attack as a “serious violent incident,” but said the delegation had not coordinated the visit in advance, and that no troops were present at the scene. Occupier attacks have intensified since the olive harvest began earlier this month, with the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reporting 40 attacks and violations against farmers, farmland and olive crops in a single day last weekend.