The United Nations (UN) has warned that dozens of Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes in Jericho after Israeli settlers took over their houses, in a context of growing violence in the West Bank that has reached a record of 377 attacks since the start of the olive harvest season.
The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, explained at a press briefing that the most recent takeovers took place in Isteih, a Palestinian neighborhood located near Jericho. During these raids, the settlers used live ammunition, physically assaulted residents, and threw stones, which forced numerous families to flee out of fear of further violent incidents.
Following these events, Israeli forces declared the area a “closed military zone,” a measure that has blocked access by humanitarian organizations to displaced people, preventing them from assessing their needs and offering them adequate shelter.
United Nations places this incident within a pattern of systematic violence against Palestinian farmers. According to data released by the organization, since September 377 incidents involving casualties or material damage have been recorded, the highest figure during an olive campaign since the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA, its acronym in English) began compiling information in 2006.
As part of these attacks, at least one Palestinian has lost his life at the hands of a settler, more than 200 have been injured, and more than 3,850 olive trees have been destroyed or damaged.
Dujarric emphasized that this escalation of violence, together with the official restrictions imposed by Israel to access the farms, directly puts at risk the livelihoods of between 80,000 and 100,000 Palestinian families throughout the West Bank that depend economically on this annual harvest.
The UN has reiterated its condemnation of these events and has called for safe access to agricultural lands to be guaranteed and for the perpetrators of the attacks to appear before justice and assume their responsibilities.