HEBRON, Friday, March 24, 2023 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers Thursday evening sabotaged Palestinian farmers’ crops to the east of Yatta city, south of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, according to a local activist.

Rateb Jabour, an anti-occupation activist, said that a group of settlers, under army protection, allowed their sheep to trespass and graze on the crops of the residents of al-Zoyedeen, one of the 19 communities making up Masafer Yatta, causing widespread damage.

The gun-toting soldiers briefly held three farmers for attempting to defending their property from the violent trespassers.

On May 4, 2022, Israel’s top court gave the army the green light to forcibly expel some 1,300 Palestinians living in the villages or hamlets making up the Masafer Yatta area, which relies heavily on animal husbandry as the main source of livelihood, marking one of the largest expulsions carried out by the State of Israel in recent decades.

Located in Area C of the West Bank, under full Israeli administrative and military control, the area has been subjected to repeated Israeli violations by settlers and soldiers targeting their main source of living - livestock.

It has been designated as a closed Israeli military zone for training since 1980s and accordingly referred to as Firing Zone 918.

Israeli violations against the area include demolition of animal barns, homes and residential structures. Issuance of construction permits by Israel to local Palestinians in the area is non-existent.

K.F.