Settlers uproot trees near Hebron

Dozens of Palestinian olive trees and grape vines were destroyed and anti-Arab graffiti was daubed in groves of the West Bank village of Beit Omar, residents said on Saturday. The villagers said the attack had taken place on Friday night or early Saturday and blamed it on Jewish settlers of nearby Bat Ayin settlement, which lies north of the town of Hebron. Hebrew graffiti reading "death to Arabs" and "price tag" was also found sprayed on boulders in the area. "Price tag" is the name generally used for attacks carried out against Arabs and Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli government action against settlements in the West Bank. The Israeli army said it was unaware of the incident. Elsewhere on the West Bank, Palestinians said settlers from Yitzhar attacked the village of Asira al-Qibliya, near the northern city of Nablus. According to Palestinian witnesses and security forces, 50 settlers attacked Palestinians with stones. The Israeli army fired tear gas to disperse the clashes and two Palestinians were wounded by stones, the sources said. A weekly protest took place in Beit Omar on Saturday against the expropriation of Palestinian farming land by Israel due to the expansion of the settlement of Karmei Tsur.