Dozens of Israeli soldiers, accompanied by armored military bulldozers, invaded on Wednesday morning, Palestinian agricultural lands and orchards in Bardala village, in the West Bank’s Northern Plains, before uprooting hundreds of trees, fruits and vegetable plants.
Resident Hasan Sawafta said he received a military order for uprooting his trees and plants, four years ago, under the pretext that his lands are “state-owned” in the occupied West Bank.
He added that the army informed him his lands are “designated for military usage,” therefore, are off-limits to the Palestinians. He files appeals against the destruction of his land, but were all denied.
The lands were planted with 100 trees, in addition to ten Dunams planted with cucumbers, and seven Dunams planted with corn.
Sawafta said the army intends to bulldoze and uproot around 35 Dunams, and added that the destruction was started after ten army jeeps, large vehicles and bulldozers invaded the area.
