Jewish settlers today destroyed water pipelines and trees in al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village, near the city of Nablus, according to the Palesitnian news agency WAFA.
Khaled Daraghmeh, a local landowner, said that a group of settlers stormed his plot of land, known as Khan al-Laban area, famous for its water spring, in the village, destroying doors, water pipelines and his orange trees.
War on nature: How Zionist colonialism has destroyed the environment in Palestine https://t.co/I6KAzwoedy
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) February 26, 2019
The settlers came from the nearby colonial settlement of Ma’ale Levona, established in 1983 on the villagers’ lands.
Daraghmeh pointed to the fact that Khan al-Laban, which dates back to the Ottoman era and covers an area of 300 dunums, has been subject to frequent attack by illegal Jewish settlers, who enjoy the protection of the Israeli military, in order to seize as it is located in the area connecting the colonial settlements of Alie and Ma’ale Levona.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
Israel's 'environmental crisis' is of its own making @AJEnglish https://t.co/qkIFWDiAPH
— Naomi Junnor (@NaomiJunnor) July 25, 2020
“Jewish settler violence should not be analyzed separately from the violence meted out by the Israeli army, but seen within the larger context of the violent Zionist ideology that governs Israeli society entirely,” wrote Palestinian author and editor of The Palestine Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud.
“Settler violence has long since become part of Palestinians’ daily life under occupation,” according to the Human Rights Group B’tselem. “Israeli security forces enable these actions, which result in Palestinian casualties – injuries and fatalities – as well as damage to land and property. In some cases, they even serve as an armed escort, or even join in the attacks”.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.
(Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)
