A group of extremist settlers uprooted more than 100 olive trees from the village of Yasuf, east of Salfit, on Wednesday morning.
Ghassan Daghlas, who is responsible for the settlement file in the northern West Bank, said that settlers from the settlement of "Rahalim" uprooted 100 olive trees from the Yasuf lands in the Asharat area south of the village.
He added that the trees belonged to Mohammed Saleh Jazi from the village, located near the Za'tara checkpoint.
Settlement researcher Khalid Maali said that the settlement of Rahalim is the 25 th settlement in the Salfit governorate. It was recently established and is the center of the governorates of Ramallah, Nablus and Salfit.
Comment: On January 13,
Haaretz reported:
Masked Israeli Settlers Filmed Destroying Palestinian Olive Trees
Soldiers eventually intervened, but no arrests were made in what Palestinians claim is the latest incident of settler violence since this week's deadly terror attack that claimed a rabbi's life
Israeli settlers destroyed on Saturday dozens of Palestinian-owned olive trees in the West Bank, Palestinians said. According to Palestinians from the Hawara region, masked settlers from the settlement of Yitzhar arrived at the area and started targeting the old trees.
In a video taken by Palestinians at the scene, a group of masked men can be seen breaking tree trunks and branches.
The video, filmed with from a distance of hundreds of meters, also shows a group of soldiers standing by and witnessing the incident. At a later stage, after the trees have already been damaged, the soldiers intervene.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that "30 masked settlers went to Hawara this afternoon." The army said that a few trees were damaged and that forces stepped in to disperse them. No arrests were made, though forces were at the scene and, as noted, intervened.
Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email* Since the shooting attack earlier this week in which Palestinian terrorists killed Rabbi Raziel Shevach from the illegal outpost Havat Gilad, at least eight similar incidents took place. In one instance, following the funeral for the slain rabbi, settlers descended on the Palestinian town of Praata. The group reportedly broke locals' windows. None were arrested in the incident.
Comment: On January 13, Haaretz reported: