75 per cent olive trees in Gaza destroyed – Palestinian authorities
Residents of Gaza could only access their fields during a temporary ceasefire, which lasted just a week last November.
ISTANBUL - The Israeli military campaign has resulted in the destruction of over 75 per cent of olive trees in Gaza, a new report revealed on Saturday.
According to Anadolu Agency, the report, compiled by the National Office for the Defence of Land and Resistance to Settlement, affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said "the war has had a destructive impact on the olive sector, annihilating more than 75 per cent of olive trees in the region.
Israel has continued its air and ground attacks on the Palestinian enclave since October last year.
It said that residents of Gaza could only access their fields during a temporary ceasefire, which lasted just a week last November, allowing them to harvest olives from areas that had not yet been subjected to Israeli uprooting and destruction.
The publication said that in the occupied West Bank, Israeli authorities revoked all permits granted to farmers for olive picking, effectively preventing them from accessing their lands.
It also pointed out various practices by illegal settlers aimed at obstructing Palestinians from harvesting olives.
Estimates indicate that approximately 23,700 acres of olive-planted land in the occupied West Bank has been declared closed military zones by the Israeli authorities.
Olive is a major agricultural crop in Palestine and has been cultivated for thousands of years.
Olive trees are also a symbol of Palestinian rootedness in their land. - BERNAMA-ANADOLU
