***image2***Last Monday settlers, under the protection of Occupation forces, bulldozed 40 dunums of land belonging to the village of Nahalin, west of Bethlehem. Villagers had planted olives, grapevines, fig and other fruit trees on the land, which is a source of livelihood for many families in this village of over 10,000 people.
The move is part of plan to extend high-voltage power lines between the three settlements of Betar, Neve Daniyel, and Geva’ot. This project will lead to further confiscation of land from this village, which has seen over 15,000 dunums confiscated since 1967.
Nahalin is a village that is completely surrounded by settlements. When the Apartheid Wall is completed, the village will be cut off from Bethlehem and other parts of the West Bank. This most recent incursion is the latest of countless attacks by settlers who aim to seize more land and increase control over the land surrounding the village.