The Arab Region and North Africa Region of La Via Campesina
Petition for Solidarity with Farmers and Rural Communities in Occupied Palestine
On the occasion of April 17 — the International Day of Peasant Struggles — we, the undersigned organizations, express our unwavering solidarity with Palestinian farmers, rural communities, fishers, and herders who face an existential threat to their land, lives, and livelihoods under a brutal system of settler colonialism and Israeli military occupation.
In Gaza, the Israeli occupation has resorted to systematic bombardment and the weaponization of food, deliberately enforcing starvation. These attacks have led to the complete destruction of agricultural land and related infrastructure, resulting in the collapse of local food systems. In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian farmers are forced to abandon their lands due to the ongoing expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, violent settler assaults, land confiscations, and severe movement restrictions imposed by the occupying army.
We affirm that Palestinian farmers have the right to land, seeds, water, biodiversity, food sovereignty, and self-determination, as outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018. In particular, we highlight the following rights enshrined in the declaration, which continue to be systematically violated in Palestine:
As we commemorate the International Day of Peasant Struggles, we remember the massacre of landless peasants in 1996 in the Eldorado dos Carajás region of Brazil, during their fight for comprehensive land reform. This tragic event exemplifies the countless struggles of farmers worldwide who risk everything to feed humanity.
Today, we call on the international community to:
Farmers are not only food producers — they are defenders of land, culture, and life. We honor the courage of Palestinian farmers who continue to resist by planting and growing amid unimaginable destruction. Their struggle is our struggle.
Sign the petition and help amplify the voices of Palestinian farmers and rural communities fighting for justice, sovereignty, and survival.