Israeli settlers uproot 400 Palestinian olive trees

Settlers uproot 400 olive trees near Nablus

Jewish youths hold Israeli flags during a rally march outside the West Bank
settlement of Itamar, near Nablus September 20, 2011.(Reuters/Nir Elias)

 

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Dozens of Israeli settlers on Sunday uprooted over 400 Palestinian-owned olive trees near Nablus in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian Authority official said.

Settlement Affairs official Ghassan Doughlas said settlers attacked fields between Qusra and Duma villages south of Nablus.

On Friday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man, Issam Kamal Odeh, 33, during clashes sparked by settlers who entered Qusra.

The incident comes amid a surge in settler violence in the northern district, including village raids, attacks on Palestinians and their property and the vandalism of two mosques in recent weeks.

In Qusra on Sept. 5, settlers torched a mosque and spray-painted anti-Arab slogans and the Star of David.