According to a report released today Tuesday, June 28th, by the Palestinian Land Research Center (LRC), the Israeli occupation authorities took 25,365 dunums of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, and destroyed 2931 dunums of land, and 17,755 trees, and 93 water wells and tanks.
12,911 dunums of land were taken by 37 military orders, 1986 dunums were taken by colonial settlers either directly or to expand settlements and use them for agriculture, and 19,166 dunums were taken by the military planning committee to expand illegal settlements, the majority of which are outside the settlement limits, according to the same report,
LRC reported that 2021 dunums of land were destroyed by sewage water, 116 dunums were burned, 140 dunums were set ablaze, 83 dunums were utilized for cattle grazing by colonial settlers, 10 dunums were used for military training, 18 dunums were damaged by chemicals, and 543 dunums were sabotaged.
It stated that the Israeli occupation forces and settlers committed 225 acts of vandalism against trees destroying as a result of 17,755 trees, including 13,845 completely destroyed and 915 olive trees stolen. The rest were partly destroyed.
The Israeli occupation forces also obliterated 93 water wells and tanks that benefitted 1050 people, including 450 children and 470 women, and irrigated more than 1800 dunums of agricultural land that are currently going dry.
According to the Center, 86 more wells and water reservoirs that provide water to 835 people, including 384 children and 255 women, and irrigate 1000 dunums of farmland, are currently in danger of being destroyed by 80 military orders, some for demolition and others for stop-work.
LRC said 74 illegal Israeli settlements dump their wastewater at Palestinian agricultural land harming 2021 dunums of land, many of which are olive groves or planted with other trees.
More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and al-Quds.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital according to the agreement of solo accords in 1993.
The Israeli occupation and continuous establishment of settlements in the occupied areas of the Palestinian territories show little to no intention for Israel to comply with its end of the agreement and give the Palestinian people any sovereignty over any future state.
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