Head of the United Nations Human Rights Office in the West Bank, Ajith Sunghay, has confirmed an unprecedented escalation in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in support of Israeli forces.
UN News center quoted Sunghay as saying at a press conference in Ramallah that the intensifying Israeli assaults during the olive harvest season, are part of a broader pattern of violations aimed at severing Palestinians from their land and facilitating illegal settlement expansion. He warned of catastrophic consequences, noting that between 80,000 to 100,000 Palestinian families rely on the olive harvest as a primary source of livelihood.
Sunghay emphasized that the denial of Palestinians’ rights to life, livelihood, security, dignity, and self-determination by Israeli authorities is both unlawful and unacceptable. He stressed that no matter how long the occupation persists, it must not be normalized, and that Israel is legally obligated to end the occupation and reverse its annexation of the West Bank.
He also highlighted that in 2023, approximately 96,000 dunams of olive-planted land in the West Bank were left unharvested due to Israeli discriminatory policies, resulting in losses exceeding $10 million for Palestinian farmers. The same pattern continued during the 2024 harvest season.
