HEBRON, May 19, 2025 – WAFA – Extremist armed colonists set fire on Monday evening to fruit-bearing trees and agricultural crops in the Palestinian community of Khallet al-Furn in the village of Birin east of Hebron, according to a local official.

Farid Burqan, head of the Birin Village Council, told WAFA that armed colonists from the illegal colonial outpost of Adoraim set fire to vineyards, almond, olive, and citrus trees in the area. He added that the flames spread across more than 70 dunums of land planted with barley, clover, and other crops. The land is owned by several local families.

Burqan noted that the colonists, who alternate roles with the Israeli occupation forces in targeting the village, aim to displace residents and expand the colonial outpost of Adoraim and the colony of Bnei Hefer, both of which are built illegally on land belonging to local Palestinians near the village.

He called on local and international institutions to act urgently to protect the residents and intervene to stop the colonists’ attacks.

Israeli occupation forces and colonists carried out a total of 1,693 attacks during the month of April alone, according to a report by the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission. These attacks are part of an ongoing pattern of terrorism carried out by the occupation state against the Palestinian people, their land and their property.

The report stated that the Israeli army was responsible for 1,352 of these incidents, while colonists carried out 341. The majority of violations occurred in the governorates of Hebron (292), Ramallah and Al-Bireh (269), and Nablus (254).

T.R.