A/HRC/28/44 Case study: the olive harvest 32. Almost half of the agricultural land in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (48 per cent) is planted with 8 million olive trees, with the majority located in the West Bank. The olive oil industry accounts for 25 per cent of all agricultural income of the Occupied Palestinian Territory; it is estimated that about 100,000 families depend to some extent on the annual olive harvest for their livelihood (A/HRC/25/38, para. 26).51 Between 90 and 95 per cent of the olive harvest is used to produce olive oil. Production of olive oil depends on the yield cycle, and accordingly fluctuates between 6,000 and 34,000 tons a year.52 33. The restriction or denial of access for Palestinian farmers to olive orchards has a negative impact on the production of olives, in particular in areas in the vicinity of settlements, in the seam zone (where some 40,000 dunums (9,884 acres) of olive groves are located), and in those areas where incidents of settler violence are recurrent. Olive orchards require maintenance all year round. Restrictions on and delay or prevention of performance of agricultural maintenance activities have an adverse impact on productivity and value of the harvest. According to FAO, each olive grove requires a total of 133 days of work a year to adequately maintain it, including tasks such as land clearing, fertilizing, ploughing, pest control and harvesting. Owing to the restrictions imposed, most Palestinian farmers have access to their olive orchards for just a few days a year, mainly confined, through the “prior coordination” mechanism, to the harvest period, which is far less than the 133 days required to adequately maintain the orchards. 34. Restrictions on access to olive orchards located in the seam zone have a negative impact on the production and the value of the harvest. Data collected in the northern West Bank since 2010 showed that olive trees in the seam zone had a reduction in yield of between 40 and 60 per cent when compared to equivalent trees in areas where maintenance activities could be carried out freely on a regular basis. 53 35. Settler violence also has a negative impact on Palestinian agricultural productivity. Attacks and intimidation against Palestinian farmers and the destruction of their property take place on a regular basis, affecting their rural livelihoods. According to information from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, during the period under review, 8,482 Palestinian-owned trees were damaged in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Although there has been a reduction in the number of trees affected in comparison with 2013, the number of trees uprooted and damaged remains high. 54 36. Settler violence usually increases during the olive harvest (A/67/375, para. 19).55 During the first month of the olive harvest, in October 2014, 15 incidents of settler violence, resulting in damage to 277 trees, were recorded.56 For example, on 14 October, 21 Palestinian-owned olive trees were reportedly cut and damaged by settlers from the Bait 51 52 53 54 55 56 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Humanitarian Bulletin Monthly Report, September 2014, p. 2. Ibid., p. 4. Ibid., February 2014, pp. 11-12. Between January and September 2014, 7,342 trees were damaged. During the same period in 2013, the number of trees affected was 8,615. See the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, “Olive harvest: continued settler attacks against refugee livelihoods”, October 2013. In 2013, 33 incidents were reported during the whole period of the olive harvest (October – December 2013), which resulted in damage to 1,522 trees. 11