Attachments
INTRODUCTION
The recent resurgence of hostilities between Hamas and Israel has led to the widespread destruction of the agrarian economy in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), with long-term implications for Palestinian land and agrifood systems in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The conflict has affected mainly the Gaza Strip. As of 27 May 2024, approximately 1 200 Israelis and 36 050 Palestinians have been killed, with many more injured.1 Up to 1.7 million people have been displaced, many multiple times,2 and an estimated 54 percent of all buildings and housing have been damaged or destroyed.3 With regards to land and agriculture, as of May 2024, 57.3 percent of all cropland has been damaged4 (60 percent of this orchards and other trees),5 32.7 percent of the area in greenhouses was damaged (covering over 84 percent of the area in greenhouses in the northern governorates)6 and 1 049 agricultural wells have been impaired.7 In addition, as of 15 February 2024,8 more than 300 home barns, 100 agricultural warehouses, 46 farm storage facilities, seven agricultural suppliers 119 animal shelters, and over 500 farms related to different forms of livestock production, have been damaged. The entire population of the Gaza Strip is now food insecure. Famine is imminent. One in three people faced catastrophic food insecurity around mid-March; this is expected to increase to 1.1 million people, half of the population of the Gaza Strip, by July 2024.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), between 7 October 2023 and 15 May 2024, 489 Palestinians, including at least 117 children, have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and 1 964 Palestinians have been displaced after their homes were demolished or destroyed.9 The year 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) began systematically recording casualties in 2005.10 In addition, since 7 October 2023, OCHA has recorded 896 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties and/or damage to Palestinian property.
Land rights are central to addressing this conflict and post-war reconstruction. Israeli policies over land use and promotion of settlements have restricted access to land and land rights for Palestinians for decades prior to the current war, with negative implications for land-tenure security and agrarian livelihoods. When Palestinians are allowed and able to return to their homes and lands, steps towards restitution and documenting, registering and securing housing, land and property rights will be necessary to restore Palestinian rights, secure livelihoods and rebuild the economy.