BETHLEHEM, February 13, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli colonists Thursday encroached upon Palestinian land in al-Maniya village, east of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to a local official.

Zayed Kawazbeh, head of al-Maniya Village Council, said that a large number of colonists, lead by supremacist Jewish Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir trespassed onto the villagers’ lands at al-Maniya wilderness and planted olive saplings.

Al-Maniya wilderness (Bariyyet al-Maniya) covers an area of several hundreds of donums and is classified as a nature reserve in Area B.

Kawazbeh added that there was an upsurge of attacks by colonists against the village, including attacking farmers and shepherds and taking over their crops as a means to seize their land and displace them for colonial settlement expansion.

He added that Israeli colonists who had set up a colonial outpost in the area threatened to kill him over the phone.

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

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

Over 700,000 Israeli colonists are living in colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

K.F.