Israeli occupation forces IOF carried out a destructive act on Monday, July 17, 2023, as they uprooted numerous fruit trees from the lands of the village of Husan, located west of Bethlehem.
The targeted trees included olive, almond, and vine varieties, and the incident occurred in the “Qadis” area adjacent to the illegal Israeli “Beitar Illit” settlement.
Additionally, Israeli settlers caused further devastation by cutting down over 150 grapevines in the Al-Buweira area, east of Hebron, as reported by Palestinian media.
Activist Arif Jaber, from the Human Rights Defenders group, stated that settlers from the “Khirbet Kharasina” settlement have cut around 60 grapevines belonging to citizen Sufian Sultan.
Jaber pointed out that settlers from an adjacent settlement outpost invaded the area last night, explaining that Sultan was surprised in the morning by the cutting and destruction of the grapevine field.
According to Jaber, the settlers left racist slogans and threats against Palestinians after cutting down the grapevines, highlighting the escalating attacks by settlers in the area targeting farmers and their properties.
These aggressive actions by the Israeli authorities and settlers continue to undermine the livelihoods and land rights of Palestinian residents.
These attacks have always resulted in severe environmental inequalities, with Palestinians facing restricted access to water, land confiscation, and the destruction of their agricultural lands and natural habitats.
Israeli settlers routinely practice ecological apartheid through various forms of discriminatory actions against Palestinian lands and natural resources.
These include the confiscation of Palestinian land for settlement expansion, the destruction of Palestinian agricultural lands and natural resources, and the establishment of segregated infrastructure that favors Israeli settlers while depriving Palestinians of their ecological rights.
Israeli settlers have carried out 525 attacks in the West Bank since the beginning of the year 2023 until July 4th, resulting in 137 Palestinian injuries and 388 cases of property damage, according to United Nations data.
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