Israeli settlers on Sunday chopped off dozens of Palestinian-owned olive trees in Bani Na’im town east of al-Khalil city.
Anti-settlement activist Rateb al-Jabour said that groups of Israeli settlers uprooted olive trees planted in Palestinian lands that were seized by the Israeli authorities last month in Bani Na’im town.
The Israeli occupation authorities last month handed Palestinian citizens notices informing them that 4800 dunums of their lands in Bani Na’im would be seized.
Al-Jabour said the residents were told to stop any kind of work they were undertaking on these lands and that they have 45 days to object to this order starting 25 May.
He explained that Israel wants to use the targeted lands to expand the Jewish settlement of Bani Haifer which was illegally built on Palestinian land southeast of Bani Na’im.
