NABLUS, Palestine / ISTANBUL

Illegal Israeli settlers destroyed hundreds of olive trees in the West Bank city of Nablus in the latest attack in the occupied territory, a local Palestinian official said Wednesday.

Yousef Sadeq al-Haj, the acting chairman of Qaryut’s local council, told Anadolu that Palestinian farmers in the village, southeast of Nablus, found hundreds of their trees uprooted or cut down when they returned to their lands after a two-year ban by the Israeli army.

Haj said the farmers were shocked to find hundreds of olive trees broken.

“The same situation was found in the western parts of the village, after their owners were allowed to access their lands last Wednesday,” the official said.

Videos circulating on social media showed villagers inspecting their destroyed olive groves with visible grief over the destruction.

According to the official Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, the Israeli army and illegal settlers carried out 259 attacks on Palestinians during the olive harvest season since last month.

Israeli attacks have escalated across the occupied West Bank since October 2023, killing more than 1,065 Palestinians and injuring nearly 10,000 others, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.