Extremist Israeli settlers set large swathes of Palestinian-owned lands on fire today near the village of Burin, in the West Bank province of Nablus, according to local sources.
Ghassan Daghlas, a local Palestinian activist, said that the arson attack by a group of Israeli settlers set hundreds of olive trees ablaze and destroyed them, adding that firefighters who were trying to reach the area were denied access to the area of the attack by Israeli settlers.
The activist pointed out that the settlers also set up a stall on the outskirts of the village, and that local Palestinian residents are fearful that this could be the beginning of a new settlement outpost in the area.
Violence and vandalism by Israeli settlers are commonplace in the occupied West Bank, and are never prosecuted by the occupation authorities.