On Wednesday afternoon, a group of extremist Jewish settlers from Bracha illegal settlement, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, attacked Palestinian villagers, cut and burned trees and injured one farmer.Local sources reported that one villager from Burin was wounded after being violently attacked by the settlers while attempting to prevent them from uprooting his trees. Moneer Qadous was stabbed with a sharp object and was moved to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus.
Also, dozens of settlers, marching in groups, attacked Palestinian olive-pickers near Burin, while Israeli soldiers kidnapped another villager for trying to defend his land.
The sources added that at least 2,500 olive trees belonging to Burin residents have been torched by the settlers since last Thursday. Such destruction creates a real disaster for the villagers as they depend on olives and olive oil as the main source of their livelihood.
Witnesses said that soldiers stood idle while the settlers were attacking the villagers and the orchards yet they prevented Palestinian firefighters from reaching the torched orchards under the pretext of waiting for proper security coordination, which leads to further losses as the fire continues to consume the trees.
