AFP's photographers on site testify to olive trees lying on the ground and bulldozers working on the hills surrounding the village of al-Mughayyir. One of the bulldozers is said to have had an Israeli flag and Israeli military vehicles are said to have been parked in the vicinity.
Olive trees are important for the West Bank's Palestinians, both economically and culturally. But the olive groves have also long triggered violent clashes between Palestinian farmers and Israeli settlers who are advancing their positions on the occupied West Bank.
The goal is to control and force people to leave. This is just the beginning, it will expand across the entire West Bank, says Ghassan Abu Aliya, who heads a local agricultural organization, to AFP.
The Palestinian Authority reported on August 16 that an 18-year-old man had been shot dead in the village by the Israeli army (IDF). Several people are said to have been arrested in the village in recent days. The IDF reported on Friday that they had arrested a man from the village who they accuse of being "responsible for a terrorist attack" in the area.
