Burin, Nablus District: Settlers break branches of dozens of mature olive trees in villager’s grove

On 23 October 2021, village resident Yihya al-Kurdi (47) went to his olive grove, which lies about a kilometer east of the village, having coordinated the date with the Israeli DCO. He discovered that settlers had broken the branches off the dozens of mature olive trees in the grove.

Eleven days earlier, when al-Kurdi was barred from accessing his land, a village resident documented a settler harvesting and stealing olives from the grove. Al-Kurdi updated the Palestinian DCO, which in turn updated the Israeli DCO, but no action was taken.

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Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. B’Tselem strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel has acted in a coordinated and deliberate manner to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip, committing genocide against its residents. In light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the public statements made by Israeli decision-makers, and the international community’s failure to take effective action, there is a serious risk that the Israeli regime will expand the genocide to other areas under its control—first and foremost, the West Bank.
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