Occupation imposes a new reality on Jerusalem neighborhoods and seizes 140 dunams of one of them

SadaNews - The Israeli occupation authorities have imposed special permits for movement to and from their villages on the residents of "Khalayla neighborhood" and the villages of "Beit Iksa" and "Nabi Samuel" in the northwest of occupied Jerusalem, in a move that deepens the policies of isolation and movement restriction, and land control.

According to this decision, those without a permit will not be able to pass through the military checkpoint at the entrances to the three villages, a step aimed at subjecting them to occupation control and considering their residents as merely occupants rather than landowners.

These villages are suffering from near-total isolation due to the apartheid wall, checkpoints, and military gates surrounding them, which has deprived them of natural urban expansion, as their residents are prohibited from building new homes or bringing in essential supplies without special permits, leading to a decline in population growth.

About a month ago, the Minister of Finance in the extremist occupation government, Bezalel Smotrich, announced his approval for the construction of thousands of colonial units as part of the colonial plan in area "E1" east of occupied Jerusalem, which means undermining the opportunity for establishing a Palestinian state on the ground, dismantling its geographic and demographic unity, isolating Jerusalem from its surroundings, cutting off the geographic and demographic connections between Jerusalem and Palestinian communities, and expanding the boundaries of the occupation municipality by annexing the Ma'ale Adumim colonial bloc to it.

It is worth mentioning that the village of Beit Iksa has a population of about 2,000 and its land extends over approximately 9,000 dunams.

The area of the village of Nabi Samuel is estimated at about 3,500 dunams, with only 1,050 dunams remaining for the residents after the occupation seized most of it, housing about 300 citizens.

The Khalayla neighborhood is home to 650 citizens in a community that covers an area of about 4,000 dunams, surrounded by four settlements that have taken large portions of its land.

On Saturday, the Israeli occupation authorities distributed new seizure orders for citizens' lands in the town of Anata northeast of occupied Jerusalem, in favor of the occupation municipality.

Local sources reported that the occupation distributed orders to landowners in the town, aiming to establish a parking lot and expand the roads leading to the "Ma'ale Adumim" settlement.

The sources indicated that the lands the occupation intends to seize amount to 140 dunams, extending from the Shufat refugee camp checkpoint, passing through the "Ma'ale Adumim" settlement, up to the camp east of Anata, and these are private properties; the goal of this is to complete the colonial project "E1".