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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli bulldozers on Thursday raided private Palestinian land south of Bethlehem and leveled 30 dunums (seven acres) of fields that were planted with wheat by a local farmer.

Local sources told Ma'an that several Israeli bulldozers escorted by the Israeli army and civil administration authorities razed Palestinian lands near the Jewish settlement of Efrat.

Sources said that Israeli authorities in the area claimed the lands are Israeli "state lands," and they plan to use the area to build a road for a new Jewish-only settlement in the area.

"This is the real face of Israel: it destroys everything and takes over everything," spokesperson for a local popular committee, Muhammad Muheisen, told Ma'an.

"They claim they are democratic but all they do in reality is killing, razing lands, and demolishing homes."

Muheisen added that despite the destruction of the farmer's fields, Israeli authorities' actions "will not stop us from demanding our rights."