New York, Oct. 21 (Petra) -- The United Nations Human Rights Office stated on Wednesday that Israeli attacks on the olive harvest season serve as "another tool of displacement and dispossession," compounding the suffering of Palestinian communities, and urged all states and donor agencies to act urgently to protect farmers.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported at least 160 Israeli settler attacks associated with the olive harvest season in the West Bank during the first two weeks of October, mostly carried out "under the protection of, or with the participation of, Israeli forces." OCHA noted that an international journalist was attacked while covering the harvest, alongside European diplomatic representatives visiting a Palestinian village in recent days. The office highlighted that settlers used "live ammunition, deliberately set fires, destroyed olive trees and groves including ancient trees damaged Palestinian property, and stole harvested olive crops and agricultural equipment." The UN agency emphasized that thousands of Palestinian farmers remain unable to reach their olive groves due to escalating Israeli restrictions, while "settlers illegally present in the occupied territory are permitted access to Palestinian land to harvest their crops." //Petra// AF