LONDON: Israel has ordered the removal of vegetation from about 339,000 sq. meters, or almost 84 acres, of Palestinian land in the northern and central occupied West Bank, a Palestinian Authority body said on Tuesday. The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said the military orders affect agricultural land in the Jenin and Ramallah, and Al-Bireh governorates, including areas planted with olive trees. One order calls for uprooting olive trees on 178,710 sq. meters (44 acres) of land in and around Jenin and Qabatiya, the commission said. It gives landowners seven days to object, but the period begins only after the measure has been carried out. A separate order covers another 128,770 sq. meters (32 acres) in Jenin and Qabatiya. It gives landowners 12 hours to remove wild vegetation and olive trees, and sets the same 12-hour deadline for filing objections, the commission said. The short deadlines could prevent landowners from challenging the orders before trees and other vegetation are removed, it added. A third order targets two parcels in Beit Rima, in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate. The parcels total 31,538 sq. meters, or about 7.8 acres, according to the commission. About 10,000 dunums, or 2.5 acres, of the land in Beit Rima overlap with territory classified as Area B under the Oslo Accords, the commission said. The order calls for the removal of wild vegetation, olive trees and other trees. Under the 1995 Oslo II agreement, the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C. Area A is administered by the Palestinian Authority. Area B is under Palestinian civil administration and Israeli security control, while Area C, which accounts for about 60 percent of the West Bank, remains under full Israeli control. “The danger posed by the orders extends beyond the size of the targeted areas to the nature of the measures, which allow rapid changes to the land and the removal of vegetation and trees under a ‘security’ designation,” the commission said. Maps attached to the orders indicate that contiguous blocks of agricultural land are affected, it added. Field monitoring could determine how many trees could be removed, identify the affected properties and assess the impact on Palestinians’ access to their land, the commission said. The orders were issued as Palestinian farmers prepare for the annual olive harvest, which usually begins in mid-October and is a key agricultural season for many West Bank communities.