Gaza: Israeli colonists, under the protection of Israeli forces, commenced bulldozing Palestinian-owned land on Monday in the village of Jit, east of Qalqilya. The head of the village council, Jamal Yamin, informed that colonists' machinery entered the southern part of the village, known as al-Bayad, and started bulldozing extensive areas of land and constructing roads, aiming to annex the area for the benefit of the illegal settlement of Gilead.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the targeted area is estimated to be between 200 and 300 dunams. The ongoing bulldozing and associated activities pose a threat to the seizure of these lands and their annexation to the settlement. Jamal Yamin emphasized that these incidents are part of a recurring pattern in which the area has been subjected to land leveling and road construction by occupation forces and colonists, aiming for settlement expansion and the seizure of Palestinian land.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces began bulldozing land in the eastern part of Qalqilya to expand the illegal settlement of Tzufim. This activity affected an area estimated at approximately five dunams of agricultural land. Munif Nazzal, the official responsible for settlement affairs in the Qalqilya Governorate, reported that this bulldozing followed a military order issued by the occupation authorities. The order directed the bulldozing and removal of trees from around 31,713 dunams of land belonging to Qalqilya and the town of Azzun.
He further explained that Israeli authorities did not provide farmers the legally required 48-hour period to object, nor did they conduct the necessary field survey to identify the targeted lands. Bulldozing began immediately after the military order was issued, resulting in losses for farmers estimated at thousands of shekels.