On July 31, 2025 Israeli forces bulldozed the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) seed‑multiplication unit in Hebron. The unit, built from 2010, was the only seed bank in the West Bank and, UAWC's director general Fouad Abu Saif said, it safeguarded over 70 varieties of indigenous heirloom seeds, many of which no longer exist elsewhere in Palestine.
The destruction was swift and unannounced. Bulldozers and heavy machinery reduced tools, propagation materials and infrastructure to ruins, and a video of the damage was shared on Facebook. UAWC called the act “a direct blow to Palestinian efforts to preserve local biodiversity and ensure food sovereignty.” Seed banks like this serve as living archives of agricultural knowledge and cultural heritage created by generations of seed saving.
Activists note that seed saving is often political resistance; Vivien Sansour’s Palestine Heirloom Seed Library describes seeds as a “map” of identity and history. The article places the Hebron razing alongside other cases: the bombardment of Gaza’s Baladi seed bank in Al‑Qarara, historical attacks on Indigenous food systems, and the 2003 destruction of Iraq’s national seed bank in Abu Ghraib. After that attack and a 2004 law change, Iraq could produce only 4 percent of its own seed supply by 2005, and some material was moved to ICARDA in Aleppo and later evacuated to Svalbard, Lebanon and Morocco.
International groups including La Via Campesina, Friends of the Earth International and the Irish Green Party condemned the Hebron destruction and urged ICJ investigations; the article notes that international law recognises such damage as potential war crimes and that the ICJ has found an ongoing genocide plausible. The razing is presented as a further act that severs ties between generations, land, stories and food sovereignty, while few governments and institutions have responded forcefully.
- Key elements: loss of unique seed varieties, cultural memory, and local food control.
- Consequences include weakened biodiversity and displaced farming knowledge.
- International condemnation and calls for legal investigation followed the event.
Difficult words
- bulldoze — to destroy or level with heavy machinesbulldozed
- heirloom seed — old plant varieties saved across generationsheirloom seeds
- biodiversity — variety of living species in an area
- food sovereignty — local control over food production and policy
- seed bank — a place where seeds are stored for long-term usenational seed bank
- raze — to completely destroy a building or arearazing
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How can the loss of a local seed bank affect farmers and the cultural memory of a community?
- What actions could governments or international organisations take to protect seed banks and farmers' seed knowledge?
- Why does the article describe seed saving as a form of political resistance, and do you agree with that view?
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