In November, a member of the Palestinian trade union Union of Agricultural Working Committees (UAWC) visited Euskal Herria. He explained the situation of the Palestinian peasants, how many members of the trade union have been murdered and how they are forbidden to introduce food into Gaza, taking hunger as the main device of genocide. The information that comes to us here does not show a tenth of the crux of reality.

Israeli settlers have been destroying Palestinian agriculture for years. Israeli agriculture is based on the military occupation of Palestinian territory, especially in the Jordan Valley: Israel plunder the land and natural resources of the Palestinians and exploits the Palestinian workforce. Settler violence, land theft, tree destruction, crop degradation, seed appropriation and settlement expansion are part of a broader expropriation strategy that threatens the survival of Palestinian rural communities. They are calculated movements to break the connection of the Palestinians with their land and take steps backwards in food sovereignty.

The annual collection of olives is the basis of the life and heritage of the Palestinians. When harvesting the crops, the attacks of the settlers intensify, the peasants are in an unbearable situation: they cannot safely conserve their land or harvest their crops. In the last collection of 2023, most olives were left uncollected by Israeli repressive measures. In this context, the UAWC member pointed out that at the time of olive harvesting it is very important that there are foreign volunteers because they are more protected from Israeli attacks. But, of course, the present situation does not facilitate the presence of foreign persons.
UAWC will stand firm in the defence of Palestinian farmers and in the defence of food sovereignty as the basic axis of freedom, said the Palestinian trade unionist.

Today we have two requests. On the one hand, we invite you to consume local and seasonal products at Christmas meals, but if at home you have the habit of eating dates, be attentive to how and where they have been produced. Most of the dates that settlers make are for export; 80% are exported to the European Union and represent 15% of all Israeli exports to Europe. Thus, the boycott of dates (among others) hampers the economic viability of palm trees in the occupied lands.

On the other hand, support the #StopGaza Starvation campaign in Gaza to stop the famine promoted by Bizilur and UAWC. This is a campaign to guarantee the essentials for life, water and food, and so, despite the harshness of the crimes of the occupying power, we will contribute to the resistance of the people to remain in the territory.

Aware of the importance of food sovereignty, let us continue to maintain this barrier by 2025.