RAMALLAH, Sunday, May 05, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces uprooted 120 fruitful olive trees today in the village of Lubban al-Gharbi, to the west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, local sources said.

Fawwaz Salem, former head of the village’s council, said the uprooting came a month after Israeli forces notified Mr. Shafik Abu-Salem, a local Palestinian citizen, about a military order confiscating his private land near the village for the benefit of expanding the illegal settlement of Beit Aryeh, nearby.

Israeli occupation forces regularly issue confiscation orders to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, in particular in the areas surrounding illegal settlements. Issued under the pretext that the land is to be used for “military purposes”, it is often later used for the expansion of settlements.

M.N