JERUSALEM: Israeli occupation forces embarked today on excavating a Palestinian-owned land and uprooting trees in the village of Beit Safafa, located south of occupied Jerusalem, according to local sources and witnesses.

Eyewitnesses informed WAFA correspondent that Israeli forces, accompanied by two bulldozers, stormed agricultural land belonging to the Alian family in Beit Safafa. The forces started excavating the land and uprooting olive trees surrounding the family’s homes, signaling the initiation of a project to construct a settler-only road.

Um Muhammad Alian, one of the landlords of the targeted land, clarified that the targeted land spans an area of 20 dunams, and that Israeli authorities have been attempting to seize it for the benefit of the Givat Hamatos colonial settlement established on the lands of Beit Safafa.

She added that Israeli authorities previously attempted to obtain court decisions for the land’s acquisition, but those efforts were unsuccessful. Today, they returned with a show of
force to seize the land.

Um Muhammad pointed out that Israeli occupation forces also stormed one of the Alyan family’s homes located on the targeted land. During the incursion, they physically assaulted several young men and arrested two of them.

Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA