Israel begins uprooting 40,000 grapevines after seizing farmland in occupied West Bank.

SHOTLIST: HEBRON, WEST BANK, PALESTINE (MAY 5, 2026) 1. VARIOUS OF SETTLEMENT AREAS IN HEBRON, OCCUPIED WEST BANK 2. VARIOUS OF ISRAELI HEAVY MACHINERY DESTROYING LAND IN HEBRON 3. VARIOUS OF UPROOTED GRAPEVINES BELONGING TO PALESTINIAN FARMERS 4. VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN FARMERS GATHERING ON LAND WITH GRAPEVINES 5. ATA JABER, MEMBER OF WALL RESISTANCE COMMISSION, SPEAKING TO REPORTER (Arabic) 6. VARIOUS OF UPROOTED GRAPEVINES 7. VARIOUS OF PALESTINIANS TENDING TO GRAPEVINES 8. VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN FARMER LAYING ON LAND HEBRON, WEST BANK, PALESTINE - MAY 5, 2026: Israel has begun uprooting around 40,000 grapevines on Tuesday, May 5, after seizing thousands of dunams of agricultural land in the Al-Buka area, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Grapes are the second-largest agricultural product in Palestine after olives, said Ata Jaber, a member of the Wall Resistance Commission, stressing that they constitute a primary source of income for dozens of families in the Al-Buka area. He pointed out that the destruction comes during the grape leaf harvest season and after farmers had completed fertilization, irrigation and soil preparation, exacerbating the damage. The Palestinian activist also said such measures are forcing farmers to abandon their lands due to the lack of alternative economic opportunities. Palestinians in the West Bank have faced increasing attacks by Israeli occupiers, which they say aim to pressure them into leaving their land to enable illegal settlement expansion. About 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 141 illegal settlements and 224 outposts in the West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem, which the United Nations considers part of the occupied Palestinian territories. According to the Palestinian Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission, Israeli forces and occupiers carried out 1,637 attacks in April, including 540 by occupiers, involving property damage, uprooting thousands of trees and seizure of Palestinian land. The West Bank has seen continued escalation since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, which has left at least 1,155 Palestinians dead, thousands injured and many more arrested, according to official figures. In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.