Israeli forces on Monday uprooted and destroyed some 2,000 olive trees in the Palestinian village of Qarawat Bani Hassan in the northern occupied West Bank, according to local media.
Ibrahim Assi, the mayor of Qarawat Bani Hassan, said soldiers stormed al-Awarid, an area north of the village, declared it a closed military zone, then proceeded to bulldoze the area, of around 300 dunams (o.3 square km), in an operation that lasted for more than five hours.
Assi said Israeli forces destroyed stone walls, "stole the olive trees they uprooted", and sprayed chemical pesticides over olive, grape and almond saplings.
"Occupation forces are carrying out another ugly massacre against olive trees," after having uprooted 3,000 trees in the Deir Ballout town, west of Salfit, in January 2021, Assi was quoted as saying.