Far-right minister Smotrich orders uprooting of 3,000 West Bank trees

Israeli bulldozers uproot trees planted by Palestinians in the northern West Bank, in a photo released 7 May 2026

Haaretz reports on 8 May 2026:

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered on Wednesday [6 May 2026] the Israel Defense Forces Civil Administration – Israel’s governing body in the West Bank – to uproot 3,000 trees.

Smotrich has overseen much of the Civil Administration since 2023. His Religious Zionism party said in a statement on Thursday that Israel had “evicted Arabs who took over state lands in Samaria,” and that Palestinians had illegally planted the trees in Israeli state-owned lands in the West Bank.

According to the statement, Israel uprooted 200 dunams (about 49 acres) of trees across “several encroachment points” in the area.

“We are leading a determined and uncompromising policy to protect state lands and promote settlements,” Smotrich said. “We are building the Land of Israel and destroying the idea of a Palestinian state.”

According to the statement, in September last year, around 2,500 trees were uprooted in the same area, and in December 2025, around 6,300.  The move comes amid growing criticism of Israeli uprooting operations in the West Bank.

In December, Israeli soldiers uprooted hundreds of olive trees near the Palestinian village of Qaryut south of Nablus.

At the time, the military said the operation aimed to “allow optimal operational control, and ensure an efficient deployment of forces,” while the village council said, “the aim is to take over our land.” The order in that case mandated the removal of “excess vegetation” and the relocation of olive trees to an “alternative location,” though residents said many of the trees were destroyed beyond replanting.

The IDF has also justified similar uprooting operations as part of counterterrorism efforts. After a shooting attack near the settlement outpost of Adei Ad in August, the army said it uprooted more than 3,000 trees in the village of al-Mughayyir as part of efforts to locate the assailant, including “uncovering vegetation, arresting suspects and searches.”

The IDF’s Central Command chief Avi Bluth has warned that West Bank villages should know that “if they commit a terror attack, they will pay a heavy price.”

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