RAMALLAH, June 20, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli colonists, backed by Israeli occupation forces, continued for the third consecutive day on Friday their land excavation and destruction in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, targeting ancient olive groves and agricultural land.
According to local activist Ayed Ghafari, the colonists carried out large-scale land grading operations affecting approximately 10 dunams of Palestinian-owned land. The levelling extended nearly 1,200 meters in length and reached depths of up to 15 meters in several key locations along the old Ramallah-Nablus road.
A significant number of olive trees, many of them centuries-old and dating back to the Roman era, were uprooted in the process. Ghafari noted that the colonists deliberately destroy the trees completely before uprooting them to prevent residents from replanting or salvaging them.
On Tuesday, Israeli colonists began setting up a new outpost on Jabal Al-Tall, south of Sinjil, by placing wooden structures in the area. The site is near an ancient archaeological zone that has faced multiple incursions and previous attempts at colonist encampment.
The escalation follows an Israeli military order issued on August 20 of last year to seize additional land to reroute a planned barbed wire barrier along the outskirts of the towns of Turmusayya and Sinjil.
In February of this year, Israeli authorities notified residents of plans to confiscate 29 dunums of land from the two towns to build the barrier, which would block Palestinian access to the main road and isolate them from their agricultural lands beyond the fence.
M.N
