Nablus/PNN/

Israeli settlers today razed Palestinian farmlands belonging to Sebastia and An-Naqura villages, northeast of Nablus, according to a local official.

Mohammad Azem, head of the Sebastia village council, said that since the early morning hours a group of settlers embarked on leveling a large tract of farmland, close to the Nablus-Jenin Road, to make room for the expansion of the nearby colonial settlement of Shavei Shomron.

He noted that the whole tract of land is the private property of the villagers, who have title deeds as proof of ownership.

Over 700,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.

The number of settlers has almost tripled since the Oslo Accords of 1993 when settlers number estimated at 252,000. Illegal colonial settlements have leapt from 144 to 515 in that time.

Israel’s nation-state law that passed last July stated that building and strengthening settlements are a “national interest.”