Israeli military raids, shuts down, and bans West Bank agricultural union

Israeli military forces have attacked and shut down the HQ of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a non-profit organisation established almost forty years ago to help Palestinian farmers, arresting staff members and accusing the UAWC of ‘involvement in and support for terrorism’:

West Bank union shut down

In a statement, human rights group the Al-Haq Organisation said:

This morning, Monday, 1 December 2025, the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) raided and sealed the headquarters of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) in Al-Bireh/Ramallah, as well as its office in Hebron. Several staff members were arrested, and office equipment was confiscated.

The IOF left a military order prohibiting the organisation’s work and engagement with its activities.

This attack is part of Israel’s systematic dismantling of Palestinian organisations that work on human rights, the rule of law, and support community steadfastness.

We call on the international community, including human rights defenders and institutions, to condemn this assault and demand the release of all detained UAWC staff members.

In 2014, the UAWC won two separate awards for its work: the United Nations Development Agency’s ‘Equator Prize’ for the union’s role in sustainable development and the fight against poverty through its Seed Bank initiative, and the US Food Sovereignty Alliance’s Food Sovereignty Prize for its contribution to making the West Bank self-sufficient in food production.

Small wonder that Israel, which has been relentlessly destroying Palestinian farms, olive groves and water resources, has smeared the UAWC as a ‘terrorist’ organisation.

Featured image via Al-Haq