Milan, May 7 (LaPresse) – Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the Civil Administration has uprooted around 3,000 olive trees planted by Palestinians in the northern West Bank, which he claims were located on state land. “We are building the Land of Israel and destroying the idea of a Palestinian state,” he said, as reported by the Times of Israel. The trees had been planted on about 50 acres of land near the Shakak industrial park, close to the settlement of Shaked. Smotrich argues that the trees were planted within the boundaries of the Shakak zoning plan and that their removal would allow further expansion of the industrial park and the creation of a new settlement, in line with permits already issued by the Israeli government.