RAMALLAH, April 18, 2025 (WAFA) – Colonists uprooted on Friday hundreds of olive trees and bulldozed approximately 2,000 dunums of land belonging to Palestinian residents in the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah, according to a local official.

Murad Sabbah, Head of the Umm Safa Village Council, told WAFA that Israeli colonists uprooted around 500 olive trees, mostly centuries-old, and opened a dirt road in the southern area of the village connecting the colonies of Halamish to the west and Ateret to the east.

He pointed out that for the past four consecutive days, colonists’ bulldozers, under the protection of the Israeli occupation army, have been actively working in the area. Forces have also been forcibly barring residents from accessing or approaching their land.

Colonists also took control of hundreds of dunums of land in the southern part of the village, with the aim of transforming the area into a colonial grazing outpost.

He warned of a clear plan to forcibly displace the villagers and establish a large colonial settlement bloc on the lands and homes of the residents, connecting it to the adjacent colonies. He added that Umm Safa is the only village whose entrances have remained sealed off since the genocide began in October 2023, with access denied entirely since then.

Umm Safa once covered an area of 4,000 dunums, but today only 300 dunums remain, a direct result of the occupation’s land confiscation and encroachment policies. This remaining area now houses the villagers' homes.

T.R.