BETHLEHEM,
Tuesday, November 09, 2021 (WAFA) – Israeli forces today destroyed dozens of
olive trees in the town of Battir, west of the
occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to sources.
Zaki
al-Butma, an activist, told WAFA that the Israeli
forces sprayed chemicals and herbicides to damage recently-planted olive grove
belonging to Ghassan Oweina,
east of the town, under the pretext that they were planted in an area
classified as “state land”.
The
Israeli occupation authorities manipulate Ottoman Land Law 1858 to classify
large swaths of Palestinian land as “state land” and pave the way for the
construction of colonial settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied
since 1967.
Battir, six
kilometers west of Bethlehem, is on the UNESCO world heritage list due to its
ancient terraces and Roman-era irrigation system which is still used by
villagers to irrigate their crops.
It
is home to a Roman spring and bath, an eco-museum and some hiking trails. Its
old town is known as the Seven Widows Quarter.
K.T./
K.F.
