NABLUS, July 9, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli army Sunday ordered a halt on cultivating works at a natural reserve in the village of Khirbet al-Tawil, south of Nablus, said local sources.

Yousef Deriya, a member of the local Anti-Settlement Commission, told WAFA that Israeli forces handed three notifications ordering cultivating works to stop at the natural reserve, which is being executed in cooperation with Oxfam International.

He said the reserve is part of a project to increase the pastoral areas in Khirbet al-Tawil to 500 dunums, adding that water wells have been drilled there.

According to the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ), Khirbet Al Tawil is one of the most targeted areas in the Nablus district, and has been “subjected to a huge number of violations and attacks by the occupation forces.”

Hundreds of the town’s residents have been displaced over the years by demolitions carried out under the pretext that the structures lacked permits.

Not only is the village located in Area C, but is also situated within the so-called closed military zone of the Jordan Valley, where thousands of dunams have been confiscated for Israeli army training operations, thus preventing Palestinians from accessing their land.

M.N/M.H