RAMALLAH, Palestine 

Illegal Israeli settlers uprooted hundreds of centuries-old olive trees in Qaryut village in the northern West Bank, according to a Palestinian farmer and activist on Wednesday.

“Around 2,000 dunams (2 square kilometers) are now almost empty of olive trees after settlers cut down hundreds of trees,” Bashar al-Qaryuti, an anti-settlement activist, told Anadolu.

He said farmers found the trees uprooted after they were allowed by the Israeli army to head to their farmlands near the settlement of Eli.

“Most of the uprooted trees were perennial,” he added.

Mohammad Badawi, a farmer, called the uprooting of the centuries-old olive trees a “real disaster.”

“I have lost 30 olive trees out of 100 trees by the settlers,” he said.

“For years, we have been facing intimidation and abuse by Israeli settlers,” Badawi added.

According to Palestinian figures, illegal Israeli settlers have carried out some 16,663 attacks on Palestinians and lands and properties across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October last year

Data from the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now show that there are half a million illegal settlers in 146 settlements and 224 outposts in the West Bank.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 43,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 763 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,300 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar