’Israel’ Plans New 261 Settling Units, Attackers Uproot 600 WB Trees

Local Editor

"Israel" on Wednesday moved forward with plans for 261 new homes in two illegal settlements located deep in the occupied West Bank.

That same day, "Israeli" settlers uprooted 600 trees belonging to Palestinian farmers in the West Bank.
The move came a day after "Israel" announced the construction of 381 settler units in the West Bank.

The plans include 256 settling units in "Nofei Prat" settlement, near east al-Quds, and another five in the sprawling Ariel settlement in the north, the group said.

According to the "Israeli" "Peace now", "the addition of 256 units to the small, isolated settlement of Nofei Prat dramatically changes the settlement, expanding its size and population significantly. In fact, these planned units will nearly triple the size of Nofei Prat."
Construction would be allowed to start "without further political approval or public awareness," it added.

It was the fifth such move in just over two weeks and raised to 2,791 the number of new settler units announced since the start of the year.
"Israel" also pushed ahead with plans for a second center at an archaeological site in Silwan, a densely-populated Palestinian neighborhood of east al-Quds.
And on January 6, "Israel" approved plans for 272 new units in various West Bank settlements. Four days later, it unveiled plans for more than 1,877 new units, some in Occupied al-Quds.

Last July, "Israel" and the Palestinian Authority embarked on nine months of negotiations at the urging of US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Meanwhile, "Israeli" settlers uprooted over 600 recently planted olive and almond trees north of Ramallah on Wednesday, a Palestinian Authority official said.
Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, stated that a group of settlers from Givat Ariel and Maale Levona uprooted newly planted saplings in the village of Sinjil.

The trees had been planted by the International Committee of the Red Cross to help Palestinian farmers, Daghlas said.

Over 7,500 olive trees were damaged or destroyed by settlers between January and mid-October in 2012, according to the United Nations Organization for the Coordination of Human Affairs.

The destruction of olive trees has an important impact on the Palestinian economy and the livelihoods of thousands of families in the West Bank.

Settler attacks against Palestinians are frequent, but culprits are rarely indicted.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team