Israeli army bulldozers, on Tuesday morning, began razing Palestinian-owned farm lands in the occupied West Bank village of Jaloud, south of Nablus city, local Palestinian sources reported.

Chief of Israeli colonial settlements file in northern West Bank, Ghassan Daghlas, told local media outlets that the new bulldozing started in area 13, known as the ‘Pats’ site. Daghlas noted that the Jaloud village is already surrounded by a number of illegal colonial settlements, mainly on the eastern and western sides of the village.

“The bulldozing by the Israeli army, earlier today, comes following remarks by Israeli defense minister, Naftali Bennet, in which he announced his government’s plans to expand the Shevout Rachile colonial settlement, to five times it’s current size, as well as connecting the Shilo and Shevout Rachile colonies with other colonies,” Daghlas said.

Daghlas added that large areas of the village itself has been illegally seized by the Shevout Rachile and Shilo, Aadi Aad, Kodish, Keda and Ahya colonial settlements, stating that all such colonial settlements pose a real danger to the Arab-Palestinian landscape, and more importantly threatening the very existence of the Palestinian people.

“Israeli occupation government has taken over around 2,500 acres of Palestinian-owned farm lands from the Jaloud village and then declared that 85% of the village’s lands are closed military zones, designated for the protection of illegal settlers in the aforementioned settlements. The 85% constitutes about 1,500 acres of farm lands.” Daghlas maintained.

Israel’s colonial settlement activities began in late 1970’s in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.In 2005, Israel disengaged unilaterally from the Gaza Strip and dismantled 17 illegal settlements, then subsequently imposed the still ongoing blockade of the tiny coastal territory, in 2007.

According to the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) resolutions 242 and 338, clearly demand that Israel immediately withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Israeli illegally occupied in June of 1967.

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