Palestinian PM Condemns Israeli Settlers’ Escalating Actions in West Bank

During the weekly cabinet meeting held in Tubas district near the Jordan Valley in eastern West Bank on Monday, Mohammed Shtayyeh told the cabinet members that the Palestinian Authority government condemns the seizure of Palestinian farms by hundreds of Israeli settlers in northern West Bank and their act of putting signs on the roads prohibiting farmers from reaching their lands.

"Tubas and the Jordan Valley areas witness gradual annihilation of the West Bank. Israel continues to destroy the Palestinian land, plow it with tanks and heavy military vehicles, and destroy all elements of Palestinian steadfastness," he said.

Shtayyeh added that the Israeli authorities "are expelling the Palestinians from their living places under the pretext of military training and prevent them from returning to their homes."

Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority stopped in 2014 following deep disputes on Israeli settlements and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds since 1967.