Earlier Tuesday, Israeli occupation forces, and illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers, uprooted 150 olive trees in the village of Um al-Khair, located in Masafer Yatta south of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.
Rateb al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Committees Against the Wall & Colonies in eastern Yatta and southern Hebron, stated that Israeli soldiers and colonizers invaded the village and destroyed the trees near the illegal colonialist outpost of Karmel, which is built on stolen Palestinian land.
Jabour added that, in addition to the olive trees, the colonizers dismantled agricultural fencing and barbed wire used by residents to protect their farmland.
During the invasion, Israeli forces also stormed several homes belonging to the al-Hathalin family, vandalized their contents, and assaulted both international solidarity activists and residents.
Witnesses reported that soldiers used physical force to prevent documentation of the attack, confiscating phones and cameras.
Separately, Israeli forces invaded the Ehreiz neighborhood of Yatta, storming the home of former prisoner Thabet al-Sary’ and his brother Yasser. Both homes were ransacked, and soldiers conducted searches of all dwellings and caves in the nearby village of Jinba, also in Masafer Yatta.
These incursions form part of a broader campaign of land seizure and forced displacement in the South Hebron Hills, where dozens of Palestinian communities face demolition orders, escalating colonizer violations, and restricted access to water, farmland, and basic infrastructure.
On Monday, illegal Israeli paramilitary colonizers, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, invaded the Tahaddi School in Khirbet Ibziq, northeast of Tubas in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank, disrupting classes and terrifying students and staff. They also invaded a Bedouin village near occupied Jerusalem.
In related news, Israeli paramilitary colonizers assaulted peace activists in Shallal al-Auja, north of Jericho in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank, injuring several people, in addition to cutting 120 olive trees near Ramallah, in central West Bank.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli colonizers have carried out 7,154 documented attacks against Palestinians and their property, resulting in the killing of 33 civilians, according to the Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission.
The area has witnessed a sharp escalation in colonizer violence, forcing several Palestinian families to abandon their homes under threat.
Earlier Monday, Israeli occupation forces conducted widespread invasions across the occupied West Bank, storming cities, villages, and refugee camps from Jenin in the north to Hebron in the south.
The incursions involved home demolitions, assaults, and abductions targeting civilians, while a woman and her two children were injured when an Israeli colonizer deliberately rammed them with his car near Yatta, south of Hebron.
On Sunday, Israeli colonizers escalated their assaults on Palestinian farmland across the occupied West Bank, uprooting ancient olive trees, stealing harvests, and deepening their grip on seized agricultural areas.
On Saturday, Israeli colonizers opened fire towards Palestinians near Nablus, while occupation forces abducted an international activist in Masafer Yatta.
Also Saturday, Israeli colonizers launched several incursions across multiple areas of the occupied West Bank’s Northern Plains, targeting Palestinian communities and infrastructure.
Earlier in the day, Israeli colonizers carried out coordinated attacks in two areas of the occupied West Bank—Masafer Yatta near Hebron in the south, and Al-Auja near Jericho in the northeast.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces and colonizers have uprooted or damaged 48,728 trees, including 37,237 olive trees, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
Articles 53 and 147, prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.
