Israeli settlers bulldoze land near Hebron in prelude for takeover

HEBRON: Colonial Israeli settlers today razed a large tract of lands belonging to residents of Masafer Yatta, located to the south of Hebron. Head of Masafer Yatta Village Council, Nidal Younis, told WAFA that a group of colonists, accompanied by heavy machinery and bulldozers, embarked on leveling lands near the Thaghla Dam in Masafer Yatta, which is usually a prelude to taking over the lands. Youins added that such step aims to build farms for the benefit of the colonists and expand the illegal colonial settlement of Tskhar Man. He pointed out that this step includes constructing a colonial road on the citizens' lands, starting from the Avigal settlement all the way to the Ma'on colony in order to connect the two settlemnts to each other, which means controlling more than 13 one thousand dunums of citizens' land. He said that this means isolating Masafer Yatta from what is known as Shifa Yatta to the east, in addition to the repressions that will be resulted from such step, which will led to suffocate a nd restrict people in those areas. Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA