JERUSALEM/ Qais Abu Samra/ Anadolu

The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said Tuesday that Israeli authorities issued an order to temporarily seize 5 dunams and 283 square meters of land in the town of Jaba, north of occupied Jerusalem, in a step it said comes within a plan to pave a settlement road.

The governorate added in a statement that the military order stipulates seizing a plot of land extending 725 meters in the areas of al-Muntar, Ras al-Mari, and Shua'b al-Ghuzul in Jaba town, with the decision remaining in effect until December 31, 2028, covering an area of 5 dunams and 283 square meters.

It clarified that the decision comes in the context of a plan to pave a settlement road extending from Highway 60 near the Jaba checkpoint to the apartheid wall adjacent to the "Nabi Yacoub" settlement, built on Palestinian lands.

It considered "seizure" orders as one of the tools used by Israel to impose new facts on the ground, by controlling Palestinian lands and expanding the road network linked to settlements, thus enhancing the isolation of Palestinian communities from their geographical surroundings.

The governorate stressed that settlement road projects are not limited to the military justifications put forward by Israeli authorities, but are linked to actual annexation plans and connecting settlements to occupied Jerusalem at the expense of Palestinian lands.

Palestinian authorities say Israel continues to expand settlements and pave bypass roads in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as part of a policy aimed at entrenching control over Palestinian lands and undermining opportunities for establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state.

According to international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal, while the United Nations affirms that settlement constitutes a violation of international law and an obstacle to achieving peace.​​​​​​​

About 750,000 settlers live in 141 settlements and 224 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and they commit attacks aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians.

In parallel with settlement expansion, the West Bank has witnessed since October 2023 an escalation in attacks by the Israeli army and settlers, resulting in the killing of 1,181 Palestinians, the injury of about 13,000, and the arrest of nearly 24,000 Palestinians.