Settlers expand 2 settlements in the Occupied Territories

Ma’an - NABLUS – Israeli settlers on Tuesday bulldozed farmland in order to expand the illegal Eli settlement south of Nablus and in Beit Ummar expanded the Karmei Tzur settlement north of Hebron, officials in the West Bank said.

Palestinian Authority official responsible for settlement observation in the northern West Bank Ghassan Doughlas said that since morning, the bulldozers have been working on Palestinian lands south of Nablus.

Doughlas warned that this bulldozing may aim to combine outposts toward the Eli settlement, which will confiscate thousands of dunums of Palestinian land.

Doughlas said Israeli forces decided to confiscate land from two Palestinian villages, Orta village east of Nablus and Yanun village south of Nablus, to construct military positions for the Israeli army.

The bulldozers and vehicles were also working to expand the Karmei Tzur settlement south of Beit Ummar north of Hebron. The land belongs to the Sabarna family, and it was seized in 2006, our correspondent said.