UN warns 600,000 Palestinians at risk of hunger in occupied West Bank

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank could be driven into hunger, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Thursday, amid an intensified assault on the population in the occupied territory.

At least 600,000 people may be pushed into food poverty, the OCHA warned, up from 352,000 at the beginning of 2023.

The report cites the worsening security situation in the occupied West Bank, including the uptick in large-scale Israeli raids and restrictions on movement as primary reasons for the food insecurity.

The OCHA also noted that the loss of work permits for 160,000 Palestinians who were employed in Israel also contributed to food insecurity, leaving families without income.

It also highlighted the increase in settler violence against Palestinians and their properties in the occupied West Bank, particularly attacks on Palestinian farmers and olive groves as the harvest season begins.

The OCHA said that it had documented 51 settler incidents, most of which related to the olive harvest, with 600 mainly olive trees and saplings being burnt or destroyed, affecting 15 communities across the West Bank.

It came as a 59-year-old Palestinian woman, identified as Hanan Abu Salami, was shot in the back while she was picking olives with other members of her family in the village of Faqqua, east of Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank.

On Wednesday UN experts warned that Palestinians were facing the most dangerous olive harvesting season ever, due to the increased violence from Israeli settlers and soldiers.

"The olive harvest is central to Palestinian life and culture," the UN experts said, adding that "restricting olive harvests, destroying orchards and banning access to water sources is an attempt by Israel to expand its illegal settlements".

During the period of 8-14 October nine Palestinians, including a child, were killed by Israeli forces, with 94 being injured. At least ten Palestinians were also injured by Israeli settlers in the same period.

Over 755 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 7 October, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The OCHA documented 1,492 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians since 7 October, of which 1,188 saw damage to Palestinian property.