BETHLEHEM, Sunday, April 12, 2020 (WAFA) - Extremist Israeli settlers today chopped off about 50 olive saplings belonging to Palestinian farmers in the town of al-Khader, near the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to a local source.

Head of the Colonization Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, Hasan Breijieh, told WAFA that settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Sidi Boaz, nearby, chopped off 50 olive saplings owned by a local villager.

To be noted, Israeli settlers escalated their attacks on Palestinian farmers and their properties, taking advantage of the current state of emergency in the West Bank due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property is commonplace in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.

K.T/M.N