Rising Israeli settler violence targets Palestinian industrial facilities across the occupied West Bank, aiming to paralyse the local economy and force mass displacement.
(Al Jazeera) – A massive fire, believed to have been started by Israeli settlers, has destroyed olive trees and farmland in the occupied West Bank.
A blaze broke out near the al-Omari aluminium factory in the village of Ein Siniya, north of Ramallah, on Monday morning, spreading to roughly 50 dunams (12.3 acres) of perennial olive trees and causing damage to the industrial facility’s yard.
It comes amid a settler campaign targeting the West Bank economy, including farmland and industry, in a bid to displace Palestinians, sources told Al Jazeera.
Emad Khater, the head of Ein Siniya council, told Al Jazeera that a settler from the Atara hilltops was seen close to the facility before the fire started. When the blaze broke out, Israeli soldiers prevented residents and workers from putting out the fire.
“[It] is one of a series of systematic attacks that previously affected Ein Siniya, which included deliberate fires in trees, homes, and cars, in addition to theft incidents and physical assaults with beatings that affected citizens and workers inside the factories,” said Khater.
Ein Siniya is in Area B according to the Oslo Accords, which should see it under Palestinian civil and joint Israeli-Palestinian security control.
