Israeli bulldozers uprooted hundreds of trees in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir on Sunday in the presence of the Israeli military, according to AFP journalists who witnessed the scene.
Most of the felled vegetation appeared to be olive trees, essential to the economy and culture of the West Bank, while olive groves have also long been a flashpoint for violent clashes between farmers and encroaching Israeli settlers, said AFP.
Abdelatif Mohammed Abu Aliya, a local farmer from the village near Ramallah, said he lost olive trees that were over 70 years old on about one hectare of land.
"They completely uprooted and levelled them under false pretenses," he said, explaining he and other residents had already begun replanting the pulled-up trees.
AFP photographers on the ground saw overturned soil, olive trees lying on the ground, and several bulldozers operating on the hills surrounding the village.
One bulldozer had an Israeli flag, and Israeli military vehicles were parked nearby.
"The goal is control and forcing people to leave. This is just the beginning -- it will expand across the entire West Bank," said Ghassan Abu Aliya, who leads a local agricultural association.
Residents said the bulldozing began on Thursday. A Palestinian NGO reported 14 people had been arrested in the village over the past three days.
When asked about the incident, the Israeli army told AFP late on Sunday it had "launched intensive operational activity in the area" following a "serious shooting attack near the village".
'Heavy price'
In a statement issued Friday, the army said it had arrested a man from al-Mughayyir, accusing him of being "responsible for a terrorist attack" nearby.
On August 16, the Palestinian Authority reported that an 18-year-old man had been shot and killed by the Israeli army in the same village.
The army said its forces responded to stones thrown by "terrorists" but did not directly link the incident to the young man's death.
In a video widely circulated in Israeli media on Friday, a senior military commander refers to the attack in al-Mughayyir and vows to make "every village and every enemy... pay a heavy price" for attacks against Israelis.
Avi Bluth, the military's top commander in the West Bank, says in the video that the villages of Palestinian attackers could face curfews, sieges and terrain "shaping actions" with the aim of deterrence.
Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the war in Gaza began following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Since then, at least 971 Palestinians -- including both militants and civilians -- have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank, according to AFP figures based on Palestinian Authority data.
In the same period, at least 36 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in attacks or military operations in the West Bank, according to official Israeli sources.
The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, is home to about three million Palestinians and 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.
