Palestinian orchard burning (archive image)

Israeli occupation forces on Saturday expelled Palestinian farmers from their lands and burns 100 dunams (24 acres) of fertile almond, grape and olive orchards in Beit Ummar, near Hebron in the southern West Bank.

According to local sources, the Israeli occupation forces expelled farmers from their lands in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, and caused the burning of large areas of their lands planted with trees, grapes, and almonds.

Local journalist Mohammad Awad said that the occupation forces expelled the farmers from their lands, and fired poisonous gas and sound bombs, causing fires to break out in hundreds of dunams in Khallet al-Kutla, Khirbet al-Qat, and Wadi al-Wahadin areas, which had been planted with olives, almonds, and grapes, in addition to a number of planted greenhouses. agricultural tools and equipment.

This is just the latest in a series of fires set by the Israeli occupying forces in the West Bank in a blatant attempt to undermine the Palestinian economy and food sources. Several days earlier, the troops burned the main, ancient marketplace in the West Bank’s largest city – Ramallah. Thousands of stalls full of vegetables, fruits and other foodstuffs were burned.

In Saturday’s arson, the land belongs to the Al-Salibi and Awad families, and the material losses are estimated according to the residents at more than one and a half million shekels, especially since the farmers are at the beginning of the agricultural year and the season of waiting for the harvest.

Also, Israeli forces abducted a young Palestinian during their invasion: