QALQILYA, June 29, 2025 (WAFA) – A group of Israeli colonists on Sunday uprooted and destroyed around 180 trees and saplings in the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.

According to local sources, colonists from the Ma’ale Shomron settlement, which is illegally built on lands belonging to the towns of Azzun, Kafr Laqif, and Jinsafut, uprooted 180 trees including 55 olive trees and 25 citrus trees, all owned by Palestinian farmer Radi Mohammad Radwan.

The uprooted trees were estimated to be about 15 years old, and the colonists also vandalized the irrigation system, stole agricultural equipment, and caused property damage valued at approximately $3,000.

In addition, the colonists destroyed around 100 young olive saplings belonging to Mahmoud Mustafa Radwan, a local Palestinian farmer, which were about three years old.

The trees were located in the eastern part of the town, specifically in the area known as Wadi Abu Sha'ar, which lies adjacent to Highway 55, the main road between Qalqilya and Nablus.

Local residents noted that this was not the first attack of its kind, as settler assaults on Palestinian farmland in the area have been occurring frequently and systematically, aimed at displacing farmers and seizing control of their land.

M.N