RAMALLAH, Thursday, December 20, 2018 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers, under the armed protection of Israeli forces, began on Thursday to raze agricultural lands in the village of Um Saffa, to the northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

Marwan Sabah, head of the Um Saffa village council, told WAFA that Israeli settlers accompanied with bulldozers started to raze a 500-dunum land in the village under the protection of Israeli forces, aiming to expand the nearby illegal Jewish settlement of Ateret.

Sabah said the village has been a frequent target of attacks by extremist Jewish settlers for years.

Since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, between 500,000 and 600,000 Jewish settlers have moved into Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law.

The estimated 196 government recognized Israeli settlements scattered across the Palestinian territory are all considered illegal under international law.

M.N