Israeli Settlers Uproot 3,000 Trees in West Bank as New Outposts Spread
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · May 12
Israeli Settlers Uproot 3,000 Trees in West Bank as New Outposts Spread
2 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · May 12
3,000 Palestinian-planted trees were uprooted in the occupied West Bank last week as settlers expanded across multiple villages, including new outposts reported in Deir Istiya and Rammun.
760 settler attacks have been documented in 2026—about six a day—while nearly 2,000 Palestinians, including almost 900 children, have been displaced by settler violence and access restrictions alone.
1.4 hectares of greenhouses and water pipelines were destroyed in Bardala, causing losses estimated at more than 1 million shekels ($344,610), while settlers also blocked springs, roads and farmland near Ramallah, Salfit and Masafer Yatta.
80-year-old Hussein Asasa was exhumed and reburied after settlers objected to his burial site near the resettled Tarsala outpost, an incident the UN human rights office called "horrifying."
The surge came as Israel's far right pushed to deepen control of the territory: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel was "destroying the idea of a Palestinian state," and ministers backed a bill to repeal the 1993 Oslo Accords.
With Israel systematically dismantling the Oslo Accords, has the two-state solution now become a political fiction?
A family was forced to exhume their father's grave. What does this act reveal about the occupation's deepening human cost?
As Trump's Gaza ceasefire unravels over disarmament, what is preventing the region from spiraling into a wider war?
May 2026 Tree Uprooting Incident: Settlement Growth, Palestinian Displacement, and International Condemnation
Overview
This report examines a tree uprooting incident near the Shahak Industrial Park and Shaked settlement in early May 2026, noting that specific details about the event are missing. However, it places the incident within a broader context of accelerated Israeli settlement expansion, with over 120 illegal outposts established on state land, often coordinated by municipal authorities. This pattern of land-related actions, including tree uprooting, reflects a wider trend of settlement growth and land use changes in the West Bank, contributing to ongoing tensions and highlighting the challenges faced by Palestinian communities amid expanding settlements and limited official transparency.