Israel uproots 150 olive trees east of Bethlehem

Israeli occupation forces uprooted approximately 150 olive trees today in the village of Al-Minya, located east of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

Zayed Kawazbeh, head of the Al-Minya village council, recounted that the trees were uprooted by Israeli soldiers in the Al-Baqaa area, situated along the main road connecting Bethlehem to its eastern countryside.

He revealed to Wafa news agency that Palestinian residents of Al-Minya continue to suffer attacks at the hands of Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers, aimed at forcibly displacing them from their lands.

The village stretches into the Al-Minya desert, reaching as far as the Dead Sea and covering tens of thousands of dunams.

These expansive areas have recently become the focus of attempts by settlers to seize them, with plans to construct a settlement road that would cut off the village from its surroundings while linking nearby illegal settlements, Wafa reported.

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Since October last year, Israeli occupation authorities have sealed off all access points to the village. The closures have made it almost impossible for residents to reach their farmlands or grazing areas, severely impacting their livelihoods.

According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority, occupation forces and settlers have carried out 407 attacks against Palestinians since the start of the olive season in October 2024, including 120 attacks carried out by the army and 242 others by settlers, in addition to 45 joint attacks.

These attacks ranged between violent physical attacks, during which a settler killed a Palestinian man in the town of Sebastia near Nablus, and a woman who was killed after occupation forces shot at Palestinians in the town of Faqouh in the Jenin Governorate.

Israeli attacks also included arrest campaigns, blocking traffic, preventing farmers from accessing their lands and intimidation.