Israeli Settlers Torch Home, Uproot Olive Trees in West Bank

(MENAFN) Israeli settlers set ablaze a Palestinian home and two vehicles in the West Bank village of Beit Iba, Nablus governorate, late Tuesday, while a separate group uprooted more than 150 olive trees in a neighboring community, local sources reported.

According to residents who spoke to media, a settler contingent advanced from an outpost constructed on land belonging to the village of Beit Amrin before pushing into the outskirts of Beit Iba. Despite attempts by locals to intervene, the settlers proceeded to torch the residential property and two vehicles.

In a concurrent assault southeast of Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, settlers razed over 150 olive trees across the Khan and Wadi Ali areas — an attack that compounded mounting agricultural destruction across the broader Nablus region.

The twin incidents are part of a sharp surge in settler violence recorded over recent days. In the past 72 hours alone, roughly 34 dunams — equivalent to 8.4 acres — of farmland in the al-Sahl area were bulldozed, with more than 500 fruit-bearing olive and almond trees torn from the ground, according to local sources.

The wider picture is grimmer still. Since October 2023, escalating violence by Israeli settlers and military forces has claimed the lives of more than 1,148 Palestinians, left 11,750 wounded, and resulted in nearly 22,000 arrests across the occupied West Bank.

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