Israeli settlers started, on Wednesday, expansion work in Elkana settlement at the expense of Palestinian lands that belong to villagers of Mas’ha village, west of the central West Bank city of Salfit.Two days ago, the settlers brought equipment and bulldozers to the scene, and started uprooting trees and leveling the Palestinian lands in order to construct a new neighborhood north of the settlement.
The Mas’ha village council reported that the area in question is estimated at 100 dunams (approximately 25 acres) and is privately owned by a number of families from the village.
The village council added that the settlers previously started placing ads and placards about their “new project”, and even stated the price of the new apartments but the construction work had been halted due to the nine-month settlement moratorium that expired recently.
Yet, even during the settlement freeze, settlers managed to install some tin houses close on the lands in question.
