Settlers Accuse Jordan of Attempting to Take over Zones in West Bank

Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters in the Jordan Valley. AFP file photo
Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters in the Jordan Valley. AFP file photo
TT
20

Settlers Accuse Jordan of Attempting to Take over Zones in West Bank

Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters in the Jordan Valley. AFP file photo
Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters in the Jordan Valley. AFP file photo

A news website in Tel Aviv has claimed that a Jordanian organization is attempting to take over Israel’s Area C in the West Bank via its afforesting activities.

The Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) is a Jordanian organization based in Amman, according to website “0404” affiliated with settlers.

It claims to focus on protecting natural resources in Arab countries, the website revealed.

However, in practice, most of its activity is in Israel, and it seeks to take over Israeli territory by planting millions of trees.

The organization’s data shows that it donated 2,434,452 trees, most of them to Gaza, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarm, and Jerusalem.

The website demanded that the Israeli government inquires the Jordanian authorities regarding certain Jordanian parties publicly working against settlements after the organization received a letter of appreciation from Jordanian Minister of Information Amjad Adaileh.

The organization’s representative in the Palestinian Authority, Ibrahim Amin Mantsara, said in an interview that its goal is to “cultivate land within the settlements.”

According to data from the Jordanian organization, tens of thousands of trees have been planted throughout the West Bank in recent months.

Some 37,000 fruit trees were planted as part of the project to preserve natural resources in areas under threat of annexation in the Jordan Valley.

In addition, 8,000 trees were planted in the area of Beit Iksa in the Jerusalem area, and 3,000 trees in the Arab village of Bedu near Jerusalem.

Another 500 trees were planted in Salfit, south of the city of Ariel, and special emphasis was placed on the areas of the Jordan Valley, Bethlehem and Hebron.



Israeli Airstrike Kills Three in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: A Palestinian man walks near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Palestinian man walks near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
TT
20

Israeli Airstrike Kills Three in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: A Palestinian man walks near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Palestinian man walks near rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 13, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled/File Photo

An Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian men in the Gaza Strip, medics said on Monday, and there was no sign of progress at renewed ceasefire talks.
Medics said the three men were killed near Bureij camp in the center of the devastated Palestinian enclave by a missile fired from a drone. According to Reuters, Israel's military did not immediately comment.
In Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said three people were wounded in another airstrike. Rafah residents have reported frequent fire by Israeli forces deployed in areas adjacent to the border inside the city boundaries.
The persistent bloodshed underscores the fragility of a three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States.
Israel wants to extend the ceasefire's first phase, a proposal backed by US envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas says it will resume freeing hostages only under the second phase that was due to begin on March 2.
"Hamas has complied fully with the agreement, while the occupation (Israel) didn't comply with some clauses. It (Israel) seeks to foil the agreement and impose new conditions," Hamas spokesperson Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Saturday negotiators had been instructed to be ready to continue talks based on the mediators' response to a US proposal for the release of 11 living hostages and half of the dead captives.
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander and four bodies of the hostages if Israel agreed to begin talks immediately on implementing the second phase of the agreement. Israel accused Hamas of waging "psychological warfare" on the families of hostages.