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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A group of Israeli settlers on Sunday chopped down dozens of olive trees belonging to an elderly Palestinian man in the village of Sisiya south of Hebron, a local spokesman said.

Ratib al-Jubour, spokesman of a local popular committee, said "a mob of settlers chopped down more than 30 olive trees planted four years ago."

He said the trees belonged to a man named Khalil Najawaa.

Settlers have been pressuring Najawaa to leave his land, al-Jubour said.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is commonplace but is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

There are over 500,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.