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NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers uprooted 200 olive trees in Qusra village near Nablus overnight Wednesday, a Palestinian Authority official said.

A number of settlers destroyed trees in the south of the village at midnight, days before the olive harvest is due to begin, the Fatah official monitoring settlement activity in the northern West Bank Ghassan Doughlas told Ma'an.

The trees belonged to Fateh Allah Mahmoud, Ghassan Hasan and other Qusra villagers, Doughlas said, calling on the international community to put more effort into halting attacks on Palestinians by Israelis living in illegal settlements in the West Bank.

The Nablus area has witnessed a surge in settler attacks over the last month, including village raids, attacks on property and the vandalism of two mosques.

On Sept. 5, settlers broke into al-Nurayn mosque in Qusra, smashing windows before setting fire to used tires inside the building and spray-painting anti-Arab slogans and the Star of David.

Settler-related incidents resulting in Palestinian injuries and damage to property are up more than 50 percent this year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which documents violence in the Palestinian territories.