Jewish settlers today uprooted hundreds of grapevines in the town of al-Khader, near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to a local official.
Hasan Breijieh, director of the Bethlehem office of the Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission, told WAFA that settlers from the illegal settlement of Efrat uprooted 450 grapevines owned by al-Khader resident Ibrahim Sbeih.
It's one of terrorism by 🇮🇱 ◢◤
Israeli settlers uproot Palestinian grapevines in Ramallah-area villagehttps://t.co/Zbcr9bqPYt
MAY 29, 2018/ MAAN#ICC4Israel#Israelterror#FreedomForPalestinian 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/j0LJWQHkDu— KAKAPO➤Endangered (@178kakapo) May 31, 2018
Breijieh added that Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers regularly harass Sbeih and vandalize his property as well as other Palestinian landowners in villages and towns around Bethlehem.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
“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.
TODAY: Palestinian farmers examine their damaged olive trees,which are suspected to have been cut down by Israeli settlers last week, As-Sawiya village, West Bank. The farmers were prevented from tending to their land by IOF who declared it a closed military zone#Act4Palestine pic.twitter.com/Ux5OOANC0A
— Women For Palestine (@WomenForPal) May 2, 2020
“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)
