Israeli settler burns hundreds of old olive trees in Ramallah
Israeli forces prevented locals from putting out the fire until it approached a near illegal settlement.
Ramallah (QNN)- An Israeli settler has set hundreds of old fruitful olive trees on fire in the village of Safa in western Ramallah.
According to WAFA, the settler threw Molotov cocktails at olive farms in the West of As Safa, where hundreds of old olive trees exist, burning hundreds of olive trees.
The fire continued for three hours as Israeli forces prevented locals and landowners from saving their trees and putting out the fire.
Israeli forces used drones to put out the fire after it approached the illegal settlement of Oralnim, which was built on the village’s land.
Olives are perhaps the most well-known and abundant Palestinian product, with trees lining valleys and terraced hillsides throughout the occupied West Bank. Farmers start harvesting olives at the start of October, however, settlers’ attacks start targeting olive trees with the beginning of the harvesting season.
More than 7,000 Palestinian-owned trees were vandalized in 2018, according to the U.N. In the whole of 2017, it was less than 6,000, the year before only 1,600. Rights groups confirmed that Palestinian crops have long been vandalized by settlers without any serious effort by the Israeli authorities to stop it. Moreover, Israeli authorities provide protection and support for terrorist settlers.
