Palestinian sources reported Wednesday that several extremist Israeli settlers uprooted around 300 olive trees that belong to residents of Al-Mogheer village, east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The settlers carried their attack out during the early dawn hours, and fled the scene, local sources reported.
Head of the Al-Mogheer village council, Faraj An-Na’saan, stated that residents have not been able to enter their orchards that became isolated behind the Annexation Wall, and were recently informed that they will have access to their olive orchards to harvest them starting October 15.
The orchards are also located near illegal Israeli settlements that were built on lands that belong to residents of Al-Mogheer and Tormos Ayya villages.
An-Na’saan said that this attack is not an isolated incident as dozens of similar attacks have been carried out, and that the residents filed more than 200 complaints to the Israeli police, but the police failed to investigate the claims.
Last year, Israeli settlers set ablaze dozens of trees that belong to residents of Tormos Ayya, and burnt several agricultural Tractors in Al-Mogheer village.
On Sunday, a group of armed extremist settlers of the Aliyea illegal settlement cut dozens of Olive trees that belong to residents of Qaryout village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
On Saturday, Palestinian medical sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported that dozens of Palestinian villagers, picking their olive trees west of Hebron, were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation after being attacked by Israeli soldiers.
The soldiers arrived at the scene as extremist settlers were harassing the residents and trying to force them out of their orchards, and used force against the residents instead of removing the settlers, eyewitnesses reported.
