Ramallah: Israeli colonists are deliberately poisoning water wells in West Bank villages, towns and cities, pushing indigenous Palestinian residents off their land to pave way for an Israeli takeover.

Jewish Rabbis have issued religious edicts permitting the poisoning of water wells, according to the human rights group, Breaking the Silence, an organisation of veteran Israeli soldiers.

Palestinian residents have spotted colonists pouring poison into their water wells and there have been reports of illnesses and deaths as a result.