JORDAN VALLEY, Israeli settlers today evening bulldozed land in al-Farsiya, a Bedouin village in the northern Jordan Valley, according to local activist Aref Daraghmeh.

He said settlers bulldozed at least 10 dunums of land in al-Farsiya area as a prelude to taking over the land for the benefit of expanding a settlement outpost that was built in the area almost a year ago.

In the meantime, Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers, leveled land in the village of Burin to the south of Nablus, also for the benefit of settlement expansion in the area, according to Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors Israeli settlement activities in the north of the West Bank.

The establishment of settlements on the West Bank violates international humanitarian law, which establishes the principles applied during war and occupation. Moreover, the settlements lead to the infringement of international human rights law, said the Israeli information center for human rights in occupied territories, B’Tselem.

“Israel uses the seized lands to benefit the settlements while prohibiting the Palestinian public from using them in any way. This use is forbidden and illegal in itself, even if the process by which the lands were taken were fair and in accordance with international and Jordanian law. As the occupier in the Occupied Territories, Israel is not permitted to ignore the needs of an entire population and to use land intended for public needs solely to benefit the settlers, it said.

Source: Palestine News & Info Agency