RAMALLAH / Qais Abu Samra / Anadolu Agency

The Israeli army on Friday uprooted more than 300 trees and cut water lines supplying about 45,000 dunams of agricultural land in the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, as part of bulldozing work to pave a military road and build a wall.

The organization 'Al-Baidar for the Defense of Bedouin Rights' (Palestinian legal group) said in a statement that the army uprooted more than 300 olive and grape trees and cut water lines feeding about 45,000 dunams of agricultural land in the Beqeia plain, east of the village of Atouf in the Tubas governorate.

It added that the bulldozing work aims to pave a military road and build a wall, threatening vast areas of agricultural land and causing major damage to farmers, water sources, and agricultural resources in the northern Jordan Valley.

The attack comes amid an escalation of attacks by the Israeli army and settlers against Palestinians and their agricultural lands in the occupied West Bank.

According to a semi-annual report by the Palestinian Commission against the Wall and Settlement, settlers carried out 3,488 attacks in the West Bank during the first half of this year.

The attacks included attacking Palestinian villages, burning homes and vehicles, opening fire on citizens, seizing land, and setting up settlement outposts.

The commission reported that settlers uprooted and damaged 23,145 trees during the same period, including 11,383 olive trees, while their attacks resulted in the killing of 17 Palestinians.