Israel seizes 1,042 dunams of Palestinian land to build army 'security road'

Israel has seized a total of 1,042 dunams (257.5 acres) of Palestinian land in the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority said on Saturday evening.

The authority said the Palestinian towns of Tammun, Tayasir, and Telluza, as well as the city of Tubas were targeted by military confiscation orders to seize the land.

Moayyad Shaaban, head of the authority, was quoted by Wafa news agency as saying that while the confiscation orders were issued separately, they constitute part of a single plan to build a "security road".

The 22-kilometre horizontal road is set to stretch from Ein Shibli in the south to the Aqaba area in the north. The planned road also surrounds the village of Khirbet Yarza, cutting off residents from their lands and pastures.

Shaaban said the confiscation orders were deliberately issued separately to hide the larger project being carried out, which aims to strengthen Israeli control over Palestinian agricultural lands.

Shaaban added that while the military confiscation orders are temporary, 90 percent of "security roads" are later converted for use by Israeli settlers.

The Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority highlighted that security roads allow the Israeli army to rapidly travel between outposts and bases scattered around the Jordan Valley. This increased army presence will also secure Israeli settlements in the area.

The authority stressed that the land being confiscated is a wide belt that will transform the region's geography by creating a buffer zone between Tubas and the surrounding Bedouin and agricultural communities.

This will in turn facilitate the expansion of Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley, connecting them to a road located in an area where settler activity has increased over the past two years, the commission said.