Condemnation of Ecocide and Cultural Genocide in Palestine

The olive harvest is one of the most important times of the year for Palestinians, representing sustenance, tradition, resilience, and cultural identity. Recently, we continue to receive heartbreaking reports from West Bank villages of olive trees destroyed and harvests stolen, impacting entire communities. Alongside these acts, there have been incidents where those lovingly gathering olives were detained or obstructed.
For generations, olive trees have provided Palestinian families with food, income, and a deep connection to their land. Destroying these trees is not merely an attack on property—it is an assault on life, culture, and heritage. The systematic targeting of olive trees and land constitutes ecocide and cultural genocide: an intentional effort to erase the natural resources, heritage, and identity of a people.

Land alienation and environmental despoliation are often accompanied by purposeful cultural despoliation, which is a pattern of genocide. These acts of violence are not isolated; they form part of a larger campaign to displace Palestinian communities by eroding their means of survival and disrupting their cultural bonds. This violence leaves lasting psychological wounds, instilling fear and despair within communities fighting to preserve their way of life.

Doctors Against Genocide (DAG) and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security (LIGP) condemn these acts of ecocide and cultural genocide and calls for immediate international intervention to protect Palestinian agricultural resources and communities. We urge global leaders, environmental advocates, and human rights organizations to stand against these acts of dispossession and cultural erasure.

The olive harvest season should be a time of celebration, unity, and tradition. Instead, it has become a season marred by theft, destruction, and violence. DAG and the LIPG stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and call on the world to join us in defending the olive harvest and the communities that rely on it.

Not Another Tree, Not Another Life: Let us work together to protect the olive harvest and uphold the dignity, culture, and existence of the Palestinian people.