Settlers take over Palestinian land near Nablus

Saturday September 04, 2010 03:17 by George Rishmawi - 1 of International Middle East Media Center Editorial Group

Dozens of Israeli settlers accompanied by Israeli troops gathered on a peace of land near the village of Qaryut in the northern part of the West Bank Friday morning and claimed ownership of the land.

Israeli settlers in the West Bank (Photo: UPI)

The settlers brought with them planting equipment and water tanks and started to plant olive trees in the land that has an area of 32 acres.

Ghassan Dughlus, PA offical responsible for the settlement affairs said that settlers came from the settlements of Shilo and Alieh, that were originally built on confiscated land from the villagers of Qaryut near Nablus.

Dughlus added that tension between the settlers and the local Palestinians is increasing in that area due to the frequent settler attacks against Palestinian residents, adding that those settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars driving on the main road close to the settlement of Yitzhar, where extreme right-wing settlers live.

The Nablus governor's office issued a call for the Palestinian residents of the district to take extra caution because of the frequent and increasing settler attacks in the region.

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