LONDON: Israeli settlers on Sunday began clearing a road through Palestinian-owned land near the town of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.

Along with two bulldozers, settlers entered Wadi Ni’lin, north of the town, and began work on a road that is expected to extend about 5 kilometers, the sources told Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The road would link the area to Jabal Al-Alem, where settlers seized land in 2021 and later established a pastoral outpost.

Separately, the Quds News Network reported earlier on Sunday that settlers were leveling Palestinian land near the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, as part of expansion work for settlement outposts.

Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank are widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes that position.

The reported activity comes amid a broader rise in attacks on Palestinian land and property across the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said it documented 2,030 attacks by Israeli forces and settlers in August.

The developments followed renewed criticism of settler violence by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who on Saturday described some attacks by settlers as “acts of terror” during a visit to the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya.

Huckabee met with Palestinian American residents who said they had endured months of settler attacks. He said violence including the burning of vehicles and mosques, home vandalism and the seizure of property went beyond ordinary criminal conduct.

The UN humanitarian office has said settler attacks have increased sharply since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel and the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Israel’s military operates throughout the West Bank. Human rights groups have accused the military of failing to prevent or adequately respond to settler violence.