BETHLEHEM: Colonial Israeli settlers today embarked on the expansion of a settler-only agricultural road in the vicinity of the village of Battir, to the west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, encroaching upon lands belonging to local Palestinian residents. According to Hassan Brejieh, the director of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, colonial Israeli settlers began the expansion of an agricultural road in the area, spanning a length of 500 meters. The expansion is purportedly aimed at enlarging an existing settlement outpost established in the region. Brejieh further explained that a group of settlers had seized agricultural plots in the Al-Makhrour area of the village several years ago, erecting mobile homes on the confiscated land. The incident is part of a broader trend of illegal settler activities that have been met with international condemnation for their impact on the rights and livelihoods of the native Palestinian communities. Source: Palestine News and Informatio n Agency – WAFA