The roots of settler colonialism: Pinar Dinc, Necmettin Türk, ‘Roots of destruction: exploring the genocide-ecocide nexus through the destruction of olive trees in occupied Palestine and Rojava’, The International Journal of Human Rights, 2025 | settler colonial studies blog

The roots of settler colonialism: Pinar Dinc, Necmettin Türk, ‘Roots of destruction: exploring the genocide-ecocide nexus through the destruction of olive trees in occupied Palestine and Rojava’, The International Journal of Human Rights, 2025

11Aug25

Abstract: Ecological degradation not only affects local and global environments but also threatens the cultural survival of affected societies, exemplifying the phenomenon known as the genocide–ecocide nexus. This article presents the first comparative case study of olive tree destruction in occupied Palestine and Afrin canton of Rojava, highlighting how ecocide serves as a deliberate strategy of cultural and physical extermination in these regions, home to two of the world’s largest stateless groups. Juxtaposing these cases reveals that environmental destruction and genocidal practices are connected and function as tools of systemic oppression. The study also bridges critical genocide studies and the genocide–ecocide nexus with field political ecology and critical perspectives on environmental security, offering insights into links between conflict/violence and the environment. Our empirical analysis has three parts. First, we examine common mechanisms of olive tree destruction and appropriation in Palestine and Afrin – damaging, uprooting, poisoning, cutting, burning, stealing, and looting—by Israel and Turkey. Second, we explore resistance strategies by Palestinians and Kurds in response to ecological violence. We conclude by discussing similarities and differences between the two cases and problematising the international legal and political systems that fail to address the destruction inflicted on stateless and marginalised groups.

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