(Picture-Directorate of Agriculture in Quneitra)
Al-Marsad – Arab Human Rights Center in Golan Heights – has called on the Israeli occupation authorities to immediately halt the aerial spraying of chemical pesticides using agricultural aircraft over Syrian lands within the Disengagement Zone (the buffer zone), which has been occupied by the Israeli army since the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. These actions cause severe damage to property, agricultural crops, and vegetation in the area, which constitute a primary source of livelihood for the local population.
Al-Marsad emphasized that the spraying of chemical pesticides deprives residents of their sources of income, violates their right to live in dignity, causes serious harm to the health of the civilian population, and may force residents into involuntary displacement. As such, these actions constitute a grave violation of the rules enshrined in international human rights conventions and international humanitarian law.
According to various media sources, including Israeli media outlets, the purpose of spraying large areas in southern Syria and southern Lebanon with chemical substances is to completely eliminate vegetation cover in these regions, under alleged security justifications.
It is noteworthy that the spraying of chemical pesticides is carried out without any urgent or imperative military necessity and targets purely civilian objects, in clear contravention of international humanitarian law, which applies to the area in situations of military occupation. Accordingly, Al-Marsad demands the immediate cessation of this policy.
It should be recalled that the Israeli High Court of Justice, in its 2007 ruling (HCJ 2887/04 Salim Abu Madigam v. Israel Land Administration) concerning the spraying of pesticides over the agricultural lands of unrecognized villages in the Naqab (Negev), held that pesticide spraying constitutes a disproportionate tool whose harms and consequences to residents, farmers, and animals cannot be disregarded.
According to statements published by the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture, specialized bodies are currently examining the chemical pesticides used by the occupying forces, and soil and plant samples have been sent to more advanced international laboratories for analysis.
The damage resulting from this violation is expected to affect the entire ecosystem in the region, extending beyond crops and grazing lands upon which residents depend for their livelihoods to the broader biological environment. The timeframe required for environmental recovery from this deliberate destruction remains unknown.
The letter addressed to the occupation authorities:
