Occupied Jerusalem, Aug. 11 (SANA) The West Bank has witnessed an escalation in agricultural land clearing, tree uprooting and damage to water sources since the beginning of the year, alongside settlement expansion and bypass road construction, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
WAFA reported that the operations have particularly affected areas in Jenin, Nablus, Salfit and the northern Jordan Valley.
In Zububa village, west of Jenin, around 500 dunams were reportedly cleared over the past year, including 300 dunams containing nearly 3,000 olive trees, some more than 100 years old.
Jenin Governorate said more than 500 dunams planted with olive trees had been cleared since late 2025, while 1,051 olive trees were uprooted in July alone.
In the Al-Baqi’a Plain in Tubas, water-line cuts reportedly caused crops covering nearly 30,000 dunams to dry up, while three artesian wells supplying around 7,500 dunams were demolished last month.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said Israeli occupation authorities issued 59 orders since the beginning of the year targeting around 2,480 dunams for the removal of vegetation and trees. It also documented the uprooting of or attacks on 45,195 trees across the West Bank.
Palestinian environmental authorities recorded 685 environmental violations in the West Bank in 2025, including land clearing, tree destruction, wastewater discharge and infrastructure damage.
The developments coincide with damage to agricultural land in Gaza. A UNOSAT assessment found that around 86 percent of agricultural land in Gaza had been damaged by the end of June 2025, rising to 94 percent in northern Gaza.
F.J./R.K.
