Israeli Forces order the destruction of Hakoritna Farm in Tulkarm, West Bank
An attack on Palestinian Food Sovereignty during a policy of starvation
Date: Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Purpose: Solidarity visit with diplomatic missions and NGOs
Location: Hakoritna Farm, Tulkarem, West Bank, Palestine
TULKAREM—In an ongoing escalation of its assault on Palestinian farmers and food sovereignty, Israeli military forces have ordered the destruction of long-established Hakoritna Farm, in Tulkarem, occupied West Bank.
On this day, papers citing “security” reasons were attached to all of the greenhouses and buildings of Hakoritna Farm ordering their demolition within 20 days. The alleged security risk comes from the farm’s proximity to the West Bank separation wall which was illegally built through their land in 2003 (cutting the farm in half from 6 hectares to 3 hectares). Yet the farmers appeal that there is no risk to security within their greenhouses, only tomatoes, cucumbers and produce being grown for the food security of their people.
This devastating destruction order comes after 5 major attacks on the farm by the Israeli army, from 1999 to 2025. These involved Israeli forces slashing and burning greenhouses, bulldozing entrance roads, destroying irrigation, as well as teargassing and firing live bullets at farmers. The deliberate targeting of farms is a strategic attack on the very foundations of Palestinian subsistence.
For over 70 years, Hakoritna Farm has been an institution of food production, learning and hope. With 8 dunums of greenhouses, over 750 established fruit trees and hundreds of students and international delegations visiting each year, this order aims to erase decades of agroecological farming systems, knowledge and culture.
The ordered destruction of Hakoritna Farm comes amid increasing settler violence, land grabs and systemic efforts by the Israeli occupation to dismantle the means of survival for Palestinian communities by controlling their right to food.
Destroying farms is an act of erasure, intended to destroy Palestinian food sovereignty and sever the generational ties between farmers and their connection to their land.
We call on all international partners, allied organisations and solidarity movements to speak out forcefully against this pending crime and to take urgent action in doing what they can to protect Hakoritna Farm before its ordered demolition on 27 August 2025.
Besides saving Hakoritna Farm, we urge immediate international intervention to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its repeated violations of human rights to food, livelihood, environmental and denial of the Palestinian people’s means of subsistence throughout their ongoing genocide, ecocide and policy of starvation.
Please share, amplify and see following pages for the full family statement and calls to action.
Hakoritna Farm
Family Statement:
Urgent Appeal to Save Hakoritna Farm
7 August 2025 – Tulkarm
To Whom It May Concern,
We hope this message finds you well.
We write to you about an urgent matter concerning the protection of Hakoritna Farm in Tulkarem— a unique site that is far more than an agricultural plot. It is a living model of environmental innovation, cultural heritage, and community resilience.
Hakoritna Farm has been in the Taneeb family since 1953. Since taking over in 1984, Mr. Fayez Taneeb has transformed it into a 26-dunum beacon of sustainable agriculture, integrating traditional Palestinian farming methods with modern, climate-resilient techniques.
The farm includes 8 dunums of greenhouses and over 750 fruit-bearing trees — avocado, mango, custard apple, guava, fig, grape, and olive — alongside integrated beekeeping, fish farming, and year-round organic vegetable production. It has pioneered renewable energy-based farming systems such as biogas production, solar drying, and water recycling, enabling entirely chemical-free operations. These innovations provide a vital environmental buffer in an area surrounded by polluting Israeli chemical factories built on confiscated Palestinian farmland, protecting soil, water, and air quality for the community.
Beyond its agricultural output, Hakoritna Farm is a hub for knowledge-sharing and community empowerment — training hundreds of students and farmers in sustainable practices, hosting international delegations, sharing low-cost, resource-efficient farming techniques and serving as a hands-on classroom for sustainable agriculture. In recognition of its contribution to regional food security, the Arab League awarded it a certificate in 1996. It is also a model of gender equality in rural life, with women playing a central role in its management and daily operations.
The farm has withstood repeated attacks and pressures by occupying forces over the years—in 1999, 2001, 2003 during the separation wall’s construction, and again in 2023—standing as a symbol of steadfastness. But with deep concern, on 7 August 2025 the farm came under immediate threat from Stop-Work Orders issued by Israeli Administration under its military occupation of the West Bank against the farm’s facilities, targeting its greenhouses and agricultural structures. These included orders served to the owner inside the farm, as well as stop-work orders issued for structures in the surrounding area. While the immediate danger is to the multiple greenhouses, the scope of these orders raises the serious risk that the entire farm, along with surrounding farmlands, could be levelled.
In light of the urgent threat to this vital agricultural, environmental, and community resource, we appeal to all concerned actors to take steps within their capacity to help protect Hakoritna Farm.
Support in raising awareness, engaging with relevant stakeholders, and advocating for the preservation of the farm’s facilities and surrounding lands will be critical in preventing irreversible harm to livelihoods, heritage, and the environment.
Please see the next page for an open invite to diplomats, NGOs and allies, on behalf of the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC) to attend a solidarity visit to
Hakoritna Farm on Wednesday, 20 August 2025.
Thank you for your continued commitment to supporting Palestinian farming communities, and for your attention to this urgent appeal.
Hakoritna Farm
Tulkarem, Palestine
On behalf of the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC),
Transportation: If you require assistance with transportation, please contact us.
RSVP: Please confirm your attendance by Monday August 18 through replying to this email at: asoboh@jlac.ps
The agenda for the visit, along with a detailed factsheet on Hakoritna Farm, will be shared in due course.
Your presence would send a significant message of support for environmental
sustainability, rural livelihoods, and Palestinian resilience.
We would be honored to welcome you at the farm.
Please amplify and disseminate this press release with all allied individuals and organisations who may be able to act in solidarity and hope to save Hakoritna Farm.
Photo: Hakoritna Farm logo and scenes of its operation. Source: Hakoritna Farm.
