Settlers cut down olive trees in Nablus area

Jewish settlers Thursday at dawn cut down tens of olive trees in several Palestinian fields in Qusra, a village southeast of Nablus, said a local official. Ghassan Daghlas, the Palestinian official responsible for the settlement file in the northern West Bank, told WAFA that settlers cut around 180 olive trees around the village. This incident is the latest in a series of settlers’ attacks targeting Palestinian agriculture; hundreds of olive trees were destroyed in Qusra and other neighboring villages, and large areas of fields were burnt to the ground. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced Wednesday the Palestinian government’s decision to engage all public employees in the voluntary campaign to pick olives, in order to support the Palestinian season against the settlers’ aggression. Jewish settlers destroyed over 4200 olive trees during 2011, said Fayyad