Assaults by the Occupation and Settlers in Jerusalem and the West Bank

SadaNews - Israeli occupation bulldozers began, on Monday, the work of leveling and excavating land around Qalandiya Camp and Kafr Aqab town, north of occupied Jerusalem, in preparation for the establishment of a new settlement road that will serve the settlements built on the citizens' lands in the area.

Local sources reported that the occupation's bulldozers continue excavation and leveling work at an accelerated pace within a settlement project known as "Route 45," which connects several settlements located north of Jerusalem and east of Ramallah to the city of occupied Jerusalem through a network of bypass roads designated for settlers.

They added that the project is being constructed on land confiscated by the occupation from the citizens, with an area exceeding 280 dunams, as part of settlement plans aimed at enhancing the geographic connectivity between settlements and expanding them at the expense of Palestinian lands.

The new settlement road aims to solidify the isolation of Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings in the Jerusalem and Ramallah governorates, and enhance the network of settlement roads that connect the settlements to each other, serving annexation and settlement expansion projects in the region.

Meanwhile, crews from the Israeli occupation municipality stormed a restaurant in the Al-Masrara neighborhood east of occupied Jerusalem, confiscating some of its equipment and work tools, under heavy protection from occupation forces.

Sources added that the invasion and seizure took place without officially clarifying the reasons, causing confusion for the establishment's owners and workers, and affecting the workflow within the restaurant.

This step comes as part of a series of measures targeting Palestinian commercial establishments in occupied Jerusalem, which include repeated invasions, imposing financial fines, issuing demolition or closure orders, and confiscating equipment and properties.

While masked settlers attacked the "Umm al-Milihat" Bedouin community located east of the town of Al-Taybeh, east of Ramallah, causing extensive damage to citizens' properties and infrastructure in the gathering.

Local sources indicated that a group of settlers invaded the gathering and began deliberate acts of sabotage that affected the water tanks used by the residents, in addition to uprooting the main gate and the surrounding fence, causing significant material damage and creating a state of anxiety among the residents.

The sources added that the attack directly targeted the essential facilities relied upon by the residents in their daily lives, in an attempt to pressure them to leave their lands and homes.

This assault is part of a continuous series of attacks by settlers targeting Bedouin and pastoral communities in the eastern areas of Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorates, which include assaults on citizens and their properties, vandalizing water sources, preventing shepherds from accessing pastures, and seizing areas of Palestinian lands.

Bedouin communities in the West Bank, especially those located in areas classified as "C," are witnessing a notable increase in settler assaults under the protection of occupation forces, as part of policies aimed at imposing further control over Palestinian lands and forcibly displacing residents from their areas.

Meanwhile, settler bulldozers began excavation and leveling work for a settlement road on citizens' lands in the town of Aboud, west of Ramallah, as part of the ongoing settlement expansion in the area.

Local sources reported that the bulldozers executed leveling operations extending over more than one kilometer within private agricultural lands owned by citizens of the town, aiming to establish a new settlement road linking various settlement outposts built on citizens' lands.

They added that the leveling work affected areas of agricultural land, threatening further confiscation and limiting citizens' ability to access and invest their lands.

The town of Aboud is repeatedly subjected to settler assaults and occupation measures aimed at settlement expansion, which include building new settlement roads, leveling agricultural lands, and seizing large areas of Palestinian land for settlement projects.

This assault comes amid an increase in settlement activity in the West Bank governorates, as the occupation authorities and settlers continue to impose new realities on the ground by expanding existing settlements and establishing new settlement outposts, in blatant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions that consider settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal.