NABLUS, Tuesday, November 03, 2020 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers today planted Palestinian land belonging to As-Sawiya village, south of Nablus city, with trees as a means to forcefully seize it, according to a local activist.

GhassanDaghlas, who monitors colonial settlement activities in the northern West Bank, confirmed that a group of settlers from the nearby colonial settlement of Rechalim, notorious for its religious fanatic community, are planting the villagers’ land in the vicinity of the settlement with trees as a means to seize it.

He added that the settlers had uprooted hundreds of trees from this land several years ago and were attempting to create a fit accompli through setting up tents and fencing Palestinian-owned land close to the settlement, which indicates their intention to further expand the settlement.

The village has been a scene of frequent settler attacks, including chopping down dozens of olive trees and wooden electric poles as well as vandalizing utility networks, as it is the case with other Palestinian villages and towns in Nablus and Salfit districts, which have the largest concentration of colonial settlements.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Settlers' violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

There are over 700,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

K.F.