Jewish settlers chopped down some 550 trees in Palestinian agricultural lands in the Deir Jarir village northeast of the central occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, on Tuesday.
Landowner Abed al-Dayim Ajaj reported that Israeli settlers chopped down 150 almond trees and 400 grape vines from his land.
Israelis destroy around 550 Palestinian grapevines, 180 mature almond trees & vandalise irrigation tanks in Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah https://t.co/TP5tB0Vbyc
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) April 3, 2019
Ajaj pointed out that the trees are more than five years old.
Jewish settlers also spray painted racist anti-Arab slogans on a water tank in Ajaj’s land.
Walid Assaf, head of the National Committee to Resist the Wall and Settlements, condemned Israeli violations against Palestinian farmers, saying that the Deir Jarir village faces regular violations by Jewish settlers from the Kokhav HaShahar.
Israeli illegal settlers uprooted on Tuesday over 550 grapevines and fruitful trees in eastern Ramallah.
Archive photo pic.twitter.com/uKHpyszSiY
— Palestine Play (@PalestinePlay) April 2, 2019
More than 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reported that Jewish settlers’ vandalism in the occupied West Bank is a daily routine and is fully backed by Israeli authorities.
(Ma’an, PC, Social Media)
