HEBRON, Wednesday, May 13, 2020 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Wednesday raided the archaeological site of Nabi Saleh, to the east of Idhna town, west of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, local sources said.

The sources confirmed that Israeli soldiers escorted staff from the Israeli Department of Antiques into the archeological site, and toured the surrounding area.

Palestinian villagers voiced concerns over the Israeli occupation authorities’ intentions to take over the area that‘s regularly raided by fanatic Jewish settlers.

Israel uses the Jewish nationalist name “Judea and Samaria” to refer to the occupied West Bank to reinforce its bogus claims to the territory and to give them a veneer of historical and religious legitimacy.

There are almost 834,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The number of settlers has almost tripled since the Oslo Accords of 1993, when settlers’ number estimated 252,000. Illegal settlements have leapt from 144 to 515 in that time.

Israel’s nation-state law that passed last July stated that building and strengthening the settlements is a “national interest.”

K.T./ K.F.