Israel settlers uproot 900 olive trees in Palestinian farms

Extremist Israeli settlers yesterday uprooted 900 olive and apricot saplings and stole olive crops in the village of Sebastia of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, Wafa news agency reported.

Settlers also uprooted 70 trees in Masafer Yatta, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Palestinian sources reported to Wafa that settlers vandalised Palestinian-owned property in several northern West Bank towns.

The sources said that the settlers sneaked into Marda, a village to the north of the northern occupied West Bank city of Salfit, slashed the tyres of Palestinian-owned vehicles and spray-painted racist slogans on walls and cars.

Meanwhile, in the town of Awarta, east of the city of Nablus, settlers cut down dozens of olive trees and sprayed pesticides on others, destroying them.

READ: Israel settlers attack Palestinian olive pickers near Nablus

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settler activities in the northern West Bank, said the settlers came from the Jewish settlement of Itimar, which is built on the usurped land of Awarta.

Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank; while occupation authorities rarely take action against it.

All settlements across the West Bank are illegal under international law.