Israeli bulldozers, backed by military forces, uprooted hundreds of trees on Sunday in the West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir, according to Arab News.
The majority of the uprooted trees were olive trees — an essential element of the West Bank’s economy and cultural heritage.
Abdelatif Mohammed Abu Aliya, a farmer from the village near Ramallah, said he lost olive trees more than 70 years old across approximately one hectare of land.
“They completely uprooted and leveled them under false pretenses,” he said.
One of the bulldozers carried an Israeli flag, while military vehicles stood nearby.
“The aim is domination and pushing people out. This is only the beginning — it will spread across the whole West Bank,” said Ghassan Abu Aliya, head of a local agricultural association.
Violence in West Bank
Violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has been growing since the Hamas attack of October 2023 with increasing number of killings and attacks by settlers and security forces.
OHCHR noted that settlers have launched 757 attacks on Palestinians or their properties since January 2025.
In May, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel planned to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the occupied West Bank, according to Al-Arabiya.
Katz’s remarks followed Israel’s announcement of the creation of 22 new settlements in the West Bank.
Last week, Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state by dividing the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem.
During his visit to Maale Adumim, Smotrich revealed that both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 scheme, a long-delayed settlement.
“Whoever in the world is trying to recognize a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground. Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighborhoods,” Smotrich said.
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