BETHLEHEM, October 6, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers Tuesday took over a Palestinian-owned land located adjacent to the village of al-Minya to the east of Bethlehem, according to a local activist.

Coordinator of the national committee against the wall and settlements, Hassan brijieh, informed WAFA that a group of settlers took over a round 20 dunums of land belonging to al-Jabarin family.

He said that settlers bulldozed the land and opened a road, designated for the exclusive use of settlers, to reach a nearby settlement outpost, as a prelude to establish a solar power system for settlers there.

To be noted, Israeli settlers have previously took over around 600 dunums of the land of the villages of al-Minya and Kisan to the east, declared it a ‘state land’, and established a waste recycling plant at the site.

Settlements are illegal under international law as they violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of the occupying power’s civilian population into occupied territory.

According to the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “The failure to respect international law, along with the lack of adequate law enforcement vis-à- vis settler violence and takeover of land has led to a state of impunity, which encourages further violence and undermines the physical security and livelihoods of Palestinians.”

According to OCHA weekly report covering the period between 8 to 14 Septemebr 2015, “Four Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians leading to injury or damage to property were recorded during the week.”

It said that the attacks included the ‘physical assault of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy standing on Huwwara main road (Nablus); the injury of six Palestinians in Nablus governorate, as a result of stone-throwing at Palestinian vehicles near Duma and Deir Sharaf; and an arson attack on Palestinian-owned agricultural land near Burin (Nablus).’

T.R.