QALQILIA, Israeli settlers this evening destroyed olive saplings belonging to a Palestinian resident near the village of Hajja to the east of Qalqilia, according to local sources.
Sources told WAFA a number of settlers destroyed around 40 olive saplings owned by a local resident to the east of the said village.
Israeli settlers’ vandalism in the occupied West Bank is routine and is done with full backing by the Israeli authorities, said the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.
“Settler violence and vandalism take place with full backing by the Israeli authorities. Sometimes soldiers take part in the assault; at other times, they stand idly by. The police make no substantial effort to investigate the incidents, nor takes measures to prevent them or stop them in real-time,” it said.
Israel benefits from the repercussions, as settler violence has gradually dispossessed Palestinians of more and more areas in the West Bank, paving the way for a state takeover of land and resources, said B’Tselem.
Source: Palestine news & Info Agency