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Fact, figure, or termDescriptionSourceYear (data)Year (published)Doc TitlePageLinkAccessed (web pages)Notes
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Growing Palestine (partner)Special thanks to Growing Palestine for their partnership and consultation at various stages of this visual. Growing Palestine's mission is "to empower Palestinian farmers to establish and maintain sustainable farms that celebrate and carry forth Palestine’s agricultural heritage and promote and contribute to the economic viability of Palestinian communities."
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PALESTINIAN FOOD PRODUCERS FACE...
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Expropriation of their land"The ongoing occupation of Area C deprives the Palestinian economy of 63 per cent of the agricultural resources of the West Bank, including the most fertile and best grazing land, while the construction of the separation barrier and the expansion of Israeli settlements have diminished the area available for agricultural activities." "In Gaza, recurrent Israeli military operations have generated infrastructural needs and
agricultural land, property and other productive assets have been decommissioned."
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-2015
The Besieged Palestinian Agricultural Sector
ihttps://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2015d1_en.pdfMay 2, 2022
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Forced displacementRelated to communities in Area C, where 63% of Palestinian agricultural land is located: "This new report, based on field visits to 13 communities in Area C, found that in most of these communities Palestinian families are being forced to leave due to the restrictive policies and practices of the Israeli authorities, including movement and access restrictions, settlement activity, and restrictions on Palestinian construction, along with insufficient law enforcement on violent settlers. All of this is increasing the vulnerability of these communities."United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs20112011
Displacement and Insecurity in Area C of the West Bank
-https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/displacement-and-insecurity-area-c-west-bankMay 2, 2022
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Denial of the right to water"The Government of Israel controls water allocation and exercises veto power over Palestinian drilling, rehabilitation and investment in water infrastructure."United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-2015
The Besieged Palestinian Agricultural Sector
ihttps://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2015d1_en.pdfMay 2, 2022
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Denial of freedom of movement"Mobility restrictions on Palestinian people and goods have been especially harmful to the agricultural sector. They undermine the ability of farmers to access land for essential work and to access markets in order to purchase agricultural inputs and sell produce."

"Restrictions on the movement of farmers, services and agricultural trade entail additional time and financial costs, due to the extra time spent at checkpoints, roadblocks and other barriers. These result in inflated transportation costs, greater risks and possible damage, especially to perishable products. There is also the possibility of agricultural services delays or even a lack of provision of services, especially with regard to animal health and plant protection."
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-2015
The Besieged Palestinian Agricultural Sector
13https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2015d1_en.pdfMay 2, 2022
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Attacks by Israeli military"Between 2007 and 2021, Israeli forces killed seven fishermen. In the same period, the Israeli navy carried out 2,265 attacks in Palestinian territorial waters, violating the rights of the fishermen to work, to liberty and security of person, and to live free from ill-treatment and torture." Al Mezan Center for Human Rights2007–20212021
The Gaza Bantustan—Israeli Apartheid in the Gaza Strip
25https://www.mezan.org/en/uploads/files/16381763051929.pdfMay 2, 2022
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"Over the last few months, B’Tselem has documented military exercises involving infantry and tank deployment, mortar shelling and use of live ammunition on cultivated farmland, pastureland and near homes....The frequent training on pastureland and cultivated farmland reduces the area available to shepherds and destroys crops. Reduced pastureland hurts residents’ livelihoods, as they must buy animal feed as a substitute for natural grazing...One of the dangers associated with military training near Palestinian communities is unexploded ordnance left behind. At least three Palestinians have been killed, and five have been injured since 2014 when unexploded ammunition detonated...The training is part of Israel’s longstanding policy aimed at driving Palestinian communities out of the area. Instead of openly loading residents onto trucks and removing them, Israel is going to great lengths to create impossible living conditions that will, eventually, push them to leave the area, seemingly of their own accord."B'tselem20182018
Tanks on your doorstep: Israeli military training part of daily life in northern Jordan Valley
-https://www.btselem.org/video/20180302_tanks_on_your_doorstep#fullMay 2, 2022
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Attacks by Israeli settlersIsraeli settlers frequently vandalize Paletinian crops. During the 2021 olive harvest season, OCHA reported "Israeli settlers injured seven Palestinians, and people known or believed to be settlers damaged or stole the harvest from over 1,600, mainly olive, trees. Four of those injured were stoned by Israeli settlers who raided the village of Burin (Nablus) and caused damage to houses and trees. A woman was pepper-sprayed by settlers, who also stoned other Palestinians picking olives in Yasuf village, Nablus. The other two were injured in Hebron. Since the start of the annual olive harvest on 12 October, over 1,400 trees, mainly olive trees, have been vandalized or had their crops stolen in villages around Nablus, Hebron, Salfit and Ramallah, as indicated by Palestinian farmers, eyewitness and landowners, in some cases supported by reports from the Ministry of Agriculture. Many of these trees were planted on Palestinian-owned land near settlements."United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs20212021
Protection of Civilians Report | 5-18 October 2021
-https://www.ochaopt.org/poc/5-18-october-2021May 2, 2022
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Restricted access to markets"Mobility restrictions on Palestinian people and goods have been especially harmful to the agricultural sector. They undermine the ability of farmers to access land for essential work and to access markets in order to purchase agricultural inputs and sell produce. Perishable agricultural produce with a short shelf life has been disproportionately impacted by such restrictions and by the back-to-back system in force, which involves the unloading and reloading of products from and on trucks at checkpoints...In Gaza, the eight-year blockade since 2007 has not given the local economy a chance to recover. Exports from Gaza are almost completely banned, imports are severely restricted and the flow of all but the most basic humanitarian goods has been suspended."United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-2015
The Besieged Palestinian Agricultural Sector
ihttps://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2015d1_en.pdfMay 2, 2022
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Food insecurityThe World Food Programme states that 68.5% of people in the Gaza Strip and 32.7% of people in the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole were food insecure in 2021World Food Programme-2021
World Food Program Palestine Country Brief
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https://www.wfp.org/countries/palestine
August 25, 2021
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FOOD SOVEREIGNTY DEFINITION
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Food Sovereignty "The concept of “food sovereignty” was defined by the international peasant movement, La Via Campesina, in 1996 as “the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems”. In recent years, a global grassroots sociopolitical movement, coalescing around the principles of food sovereignty, has emerged and gained steady momentum. Hundreds of millions of indigenous peoples and small-scale peasant farmers have aligned with this movement, and at least two national governments, Ecuador and Bolivia, have outlined explicit policy frameworks centered on food sovereignty. In addition, a rich scholarly literature has emerged that explores the dynamics of this global movement, and its implications for participatory governance, social justice, industrial agricultural, and global trade."Jones, Shapiro, Wilson in Frontiers in Public Health-2015
Assessing the Potential and Limitations of Leveraging Food Sovereignty to Improve Human Health
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https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00263/full#B1
May 2, 2022
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RESTRICTIONS BY FOOD ITEM
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Water: Israel controls West Bank water & routinely demolishes water infrastructure; Gaza water 97% contaminated"The Government of Israel controls water allocation and exercises veto power over Palestinian drilling, rehabilitation and investment in water infrastructure."United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-2015
The Besieged Palestinian Agricultural Sector
ihttps://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2015d1_en.pdfMay 2, 2022
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"A Rand Corporation analysis says: "Some 97 percent of the [Gaza] aquifer’s ground water is already unfit for human consumption, according to World Health Organization (WHO) water quality standards."Rand Corporation-2018
The Public Health Impacts of Gaza's Water Crisis: Analysis and Policy Options
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https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2515.html
August 25, 2021
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From 2012–2021, Israeli authorities demolished at least 572 Palestinian water, sanitation, and hygiene structures in the West Bank, including rainwater cisternsUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs2012–20212022
Breakdown of Data on Demolition and Displacement in the West Bank
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https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMmJkZGRhYWQtODk0MS00MWJkLWI2NTktMDg1NGJlMGNiY2Y3IiwidCI6IjBmOWUzNWRiLTU0NGYtNGY2MC1iZGNjLTVlYTQxNmU2ZGM3MCIsImMiOjh9
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Black goats: Banned, seized, and slaughtered, 1950-2017, decimating subsistence base of Bedouin communities"The 1950 Plant Protection Law, one of Israel’s earliest measures, was introduced as a way to outlaw the black goat, also known as the Syrian goat, from large areas of the country. The goats had been the lifeblood of Bedouin farming communities...[Ariel] Sharon created the “Green Patrol”, a paramilitary unit of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, whose tasks included seizing and slaughtering the Bedouin’s black goats. Palestinian community activist Maha Qupty notes that in the first three years of the Green Patrol’s operations, the number of black goats was slashed by 60 percent, from 220,000 to 80,000. The number of goats in Israel has fallen much further in recent years. A report in the Haaretz newspaper noted that by 2013 there were only 2,000 goats still grazing in and around the vast Carmel forest, next to Haifa, down from 15,000 before the Green Patrol’s establishment."Jonathan Cook in Mondoweiss-2017
In age of forest fires, Israel’s law against Palestinian goats proves self-inflicted wound for Zionism
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https://mondoweiss.net/2017/12/israels-palestinian-inflicted/
May 2, 2022
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Milk, Eggs: Israeli quota system restricts market share of Palestinian farmers in Israel (1948 territory); Israeli products dominate market in West Bank & GazaPalestinian farmers who hold Israeli citizenship were completely excluded from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture’s quota system until 2012, when 0.02% of the milk quota and 0.03% of the egg quota were licensed to Palestinian farmsAmiram Cohen in Haaretz20122012
Israeli Arab Farmers Brought Into State Quota System for First Time
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https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/1.5206384
May 2, 2022
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"Gaza’s dairy sector has been severely damaged by Israel’s separation policy, blockade and three rounds of hostilities. The sector is now highly dependent on imports for production and consumption and is unable to compete with imported products."Oxfam-2017
The Dairy Sector in the Gaza Strip
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https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/the-dairy-sector-in-the-gaza-strip-620176/
May 2, 2022
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"As Israel continues to build the separation wall and confiscate West Bank land to build illegal settlements, the area has morphed into enclaves surrounded by checkpoints, making it difficult to transport goods or raw materials. The Palestinian economy has thus been transformed into a collection of small, local markets that cannot compete with Israeli monopolies on goods such as dairy."Zena Al Tahhan in Al-Jazeera-2017
UN slams Israel for ‘de-development’ of Palestine
-https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/9/12/un-slams-israel-for-de-development-of-palestineMay 10, 2022
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Fish: 2,265 attacks by the Israeli navy on fishers in Gaza's restricted fishing zone (2007-2021)
"Between 2007 and 2021, Israeli forces killed seven fishermen. In the same period, the Israeli navy carried out 2,265 attacks in Palestinian territorial waters, violating the rights of the fishermen to work, to liberty and security of person, and to live free from ill-treatment and torture." Al Mezan Center for Human Rights2007–20212021
The Gaza Bantustan—Israeli Apartheid in the Gaza Strip
25https://www.mezan.org/en/uploads/files/16381763051929.pdfMay 2, 2022
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Under the blockade, the Palestinian fishing industry has collapsed almost completely, with the reach of fishing boats steadily declining since 2000. Fishing off the coast of Gaza is restricted to only 3 to 6 nautical miles, instead of the 20 nautical miles stipulated in the Oslo Accords. Those who sail beyond the limit defined by Israel risk coming under fire, arrest and the seizure of boats and equipment. In addition, the yield from permissible fishing areas has declined due to overfishing and contamination caused by the release of sewage water into the sea following the destruction and disrepair of the sewage treatment facility during military operations. The number of those employed in the fishing industry has declined by 66 per cent since 2000. Israel’s restrictions have negatively impacted the livelihoods of thousands of those in the fishing industry, as well as their families and communities, resulting in the decline of nutrition among the population in Gaza, especially children, as the lack of affordable protein has led to serious health problems.United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-2015
The Besieged Palestinian Agricultural Sector
ihttps://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2015d1_en.pdfMay 2, 2022
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Za'atar, Sage, 'Akoub: Foraging banned; fines or prison time imposedIsrael banned the collection of wild zaatar and sage in 1977 and akoub in 2005, making foraging for staples of the Palestinian diet punishable by fines and up to 3 years in prison. At least 61 people have been charged in Israeli courts for “possession or trade of a protected plant” from 2004–2016, all Palestinian.Shira Rubin in Undark-2020
For Israelis and Palestinians, a Battle Over a Humble Plant
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https://undark.org/2020/02/10/akoub-israel/
May 2, 2022
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Rabea Eghbariah's research has found that at least 61 people have been charged in Israeli courts for “possession or trade of a protected plant” from 2004–2016, all Palestinian.Rabea Eghbariah in Palestine In-Between--
Episode 2: Criminal Foods
https://palestineinbetween.com/Criminal-Foods
May 2, 2022
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Grapes, eggplants, tomatoes, onions: In West Bank, subject to restrictive Israeli military orders since 1980s; discriminatory policies cripple Palestinian farmers' ability to compete with produce from illegal Israeli settlements"Military order No. 1015 (Aug. 27, 1982) gave the power to authorities to require permission for the planting of fruit trees other than that for personal consumption. The appendix to the original order limited its scope to plums and grapes but this was soon expanded to include eggplants and tomatoes (military order 1039) and then onions and onion seeds (order 1015). Potatoes are also tightly controlled. Permits to grow tobacco are not issued and pursuant to military order No. 818, WB farmers cannot engage in floriculture."Leah Temper in Historia Agraria-2009
Creating Facts on the Ground: Agriculture in Israel and Palestine (1882-2000)
102–103
https://www.historiaagraria.com/FILE/articulos/48leah.pdf
May 2, 2022
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"Israeli authorities offer a range of incentives, including housing benefits, business subsidies (particularly in agriculture and industrial zones), budgetary perks, and tax breaks to encourage Jewish Israelis to move to settlements." "Israel’s discriminatory water policies in the West Bank enable settlers to enjoy bountiful water, while some Palestinian communities lack sufficient water to provide for their basic needs. In 2017, Amnesty International documented how Israel’s drilling in the Jordan Valley and prevention of local Palestinians from accessing some of their traditional water sources had reduced the supply of water available to them. These restrictions, among other factors, led some farmers to switch to crops that “are less water-intensive and also less profitable” or even to abandon growing crops themselves, with some going to work in nearby settlement farms with more plentiful water supply."Human Rights Watch-2021
A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution

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https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/12/19/separate-and-unequal/israels-discriminatory-treatment-palestinians-occupied
May 10, 2022
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Strawberries: Israel controls all imports and exports, restricts Gaza produce from reaching markets"The fact that Israel absorbs most Palestinian agricultural exports, and that
exports to regional and global markets must be transported through its ports and through land
it controls, renders the viability, profitability and competitiveness of Palestinian agriculture
highly sensitive to changes in occupation-related policies."
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-2015
The Besieged Palestinian Agricultural Sector
10https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2015d1_en.pdfMay 2, 2022
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"Exports from Gaza are almost completely banned, imports are severely restricted and the flow of all but the most basic humanitarian goods has been suspended."United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-2015
The Besieged Palestinian Agricultural Sector
1https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/gdsapp2015d1_en.pdfMay 2, 2022
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"In the past few seasons, Gaza-grown strawberries have sold well in the West Bank, encouraging farmers to allocate larger areas of land to strawberry farming. In the past five years, since Israel began allowing limited sale of produce from Gaza in the West Bank, strawberry farming in Gaza has tripled. However, unless Israel lifts ongoing restrictions imposed on the sale of produce from Gaza, strawberry growers from the Strip could end up with surpluses that they have nowhere to sell, resulting in severe financial losses."Gisha - the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement-2019
Ahead of strawberry season in Gaza: The ongoing ban on sales in Israel could result in severe losses for strawberry growers
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https://gisha.org/en/ahead-of-strawberry-season-in-gaza-the-ongoing-ban-on-sales-in-israel-could-result-in-severe-losses-for-strawberry-growers/
May 2, 2022
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Various Vegetables: 35% of Gaza farmland inaccessible; 13,000 dunums damaged by herbicides35% of Gaza’s farmland and 85% of its fishing waters are totally or partially inaccessible due to Israeli military measures.United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs--
Humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip Fast facts – OCHA factsheet
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https://www.un.org/unispal/humanitarian-situation-in-the-gaza-strip-fast-facts-ocha-factsheet/
May 2, 2022
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The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture estimates that between 2014 and 2018, herbicide spraying damaged upwards of 13,000 dunams (13 square kilometres) of farmland in Gaza. The NGO Al-Mezan has further warned that, in addition to crop damage, the long-term consumption by livestock of plants affected by the sprayed chemicals has negative effects that may harm the health of humans who then consume meat from those livestock.Forensic Architecture2014–2018-
Herbicidal Warfare in Gaza
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https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/herbicidal-warfare-in-gaza
May 2, 2022
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Olives: Up to 1 million olive trees uprooted by Israeli military since 1967; Israeli settlers damaged or stole the harvest from 1,600 trees during the 2021 harvest season
Estimates of the number of olive trees uprooted by Israeli authorities range from 800,000 to 1 million. Cesar Chelala in the Ecologist1967–2015-
Destruction of Palestinian olive trees is a monstrous crime
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https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/07/destruction-palestinian-olive-trees-monstrous-crime#:~:text=Over%20the%20last%2040%20years,expand%20roads%20and%20build%20infrastructure.
May 2, 2022
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Wheat, millet, barley: Israeli-controlled imports overtaking locally adapted varieties"The landrace wheats of the southern Fertile Crescent are critically threatened due to replacement by modern cultivars, with 90% of local wheat demand filled from imported, subsidized modern wheats. Modern wheat is bred for genetic uniformity and yield in high input industrial farming systems. The narrow genetic base of modern cultivars has resulted in vulnerability to disease and a loss of characteristics sought by organic and low-input farmers, such as adaptability to rainfed systems and tolerance to typical fluctuating extremes of drought and heat in the southern Fertile Crescent."Israel – Palestine Seed Conservancy2008-
‘Israel – Palestine Seed Conservancy’ Project 4196 – Year 1 Annual Report, 2008
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https://igb.agri.gov.il/main/pdf/IPSC-ANNUAL-REPORT-final.pdf
May 2, 2022
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"At the end of Ottoman rule, 75% of land was devoted to growing grains. A two-field system was common, with wheat and barley grown as winter crops on one half while the other half had a summer dew crop of sesame and Indian millet. The following season, the second half had the winter crop with the first half left fallow"Leah Temper in Historia Agraria-2009
Creating Facts on the Ground: Agriculture in Israel and Palestine (1882-2000)
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https://www.historiaagraria.com/FILE/articulos/48leah.pdf
May 2, 2022
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Vivien Sansour's work on the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library has been instrumental in raising awareness of native seed varieties under threat and recovering/preserving Palestinian agrobiodiversityVivien Sansour interviewed by Joshua Leifer-2018
Seeds of resistance: The woman fighting occupation with agriculture
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https://www.972mag.com/seeds-of-resistance-the-woman-fighting-occupation-through-agriculture/
May 2, 2022
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Mushrooms: By holding up essential imports & charging port storage fees, Israel shut down a Palestinian mushroom farm
"To produce their closed-cap white mushrooms at their farm in Jericho, in the Jordan Valley, Amoro needed to import compost infused with mushroom spores from the Netherlands. Even though all the necessary approvals were in place, both from the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the containers of raw materials were held arbitrarily at the Ashdod port...Kuhail explained the delays progressively increased. The first container was held for 30 days, the second 42, then 60 and the last 80 days...Amoro was only fully operating for a year and a half before it had to close in mid-2016, as all of its revenues were eaten by the import costs. For every day a container was held, Amoro had to pay 880 shekels ($250)."Tessa Fox in Al Monitor-2018
Palestinians determined to reopen West Bank mushroom farm
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https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2018/02/palestine-mushroom-farm-agriculture-resistance-israel.html
May 2, 2022
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Watermelon (pictured on table)"Another casualty is Jadu’I, the ba’al succulent watermelon, which used to be widely grown in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the northern West Bank. Farmers and agronomists today can only reminisce about how big the Jadu’I watermelon grew, and how desired it was in the region — transported in trucks to Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

The once famous Jadu’I watermelon has disappeared and been replaced by hybrid varieties bought from Israeli seed companies. According to Vivien Sansour, a Palestinian agriculturalist, “Known for its disease resistance and adaptation to the microclimate, Jadu’I watermelon fields were symbolic of Palestinian farmers’ lived experiences: Palestinian women gave birth in the melon fields; many sought refuge in the fields during the war; and many more remember the times when the watermelons were stored under beds to eat during the winter. This watermelon has stayed carved in peoples’ memories until this day."
The Oakland Institute--
Jadu'i: The Lost Watermelon of Jenin
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https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/jadui
May 2, 2022
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