Israeli settlers uproot, vandalize dozen of olive trees near Nablus
Nablus (QNN)- Israeli settlers today’s morning uprooted and destroyed dozen of olive saplings for Palestinian farmers in Qusra village, near the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Emad Hasan, Mayor of Qusra, told WAFA that a group of Israeli settlers came from the illegal settlement outpost of Esh Kodesh and sneaked their way into a ranch near the village, where they uprooted about 100 olive saplings belonging to two local Palestinian villagers.
The two villagers were identified as Jawad Hasan and Abdulazim Abulafi.
This was the second attack on Palestinian property by Israeli settlers in less than two days, as a video released by rights group showed Israeli settlers attacking a Palestinian man with stones in the nearby Jalud village on Saturday.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1104267946747638
Watch | Hardcore Israeli settler fanatics brutally attack a defenseless #Palestinian old man in the presence of Israeli army in the occupied West Bank village of Jalud, south of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/PBRtPKkNTW
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 3, 2021
Palestinians plant around 10,000 new olive trees in the West Bank each year, most of which are of oil-producing varieties.
However, Palestinians see the destruction of their trees as a way for the occupation to erase Palestinian identity and force them to cede more land to Israel.
The committee against the wall and settlement on Sunday said Israeli forces uprooted, broke, and damaged 6507 trees in 869 operations in 2020.
Israeli settlers violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the occupied West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli occupation authorities.
There are nearly 700,000 Israeli settlers living in 256 illegal settlements and outposts scattered across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
