The Israeli occupation army on Monday began uprooting about 2,000 trees planted on privately owned Palestinian land east of Qalqilia city, in the northern West Bank, in order to open a new settlement road, PNN reported.

The Israeli military had announced the area a closed military zone, and arrested international activists protesting the army’s action.

The illegal settlement road will go through private Palestinian land and will reportedly take over about 104 dunums from Qalqilia city and Izbat Tbaib village.

https://twitter.com/OccPalGaza/status/820958346849255424

Fatah party official Bayan Tbaib said that some of the olive trees uprooted this morning are quite ancient, estimated at 500 years old.

Mousa Tbaib, activist and owner of the land that is being confiscated said that the land that is being seized is much larger in size that what Israel has announced earlier. 

Tbaib said that the land is his family’s main source of income.

(PC, PNN, Social Media)