Israel confiscates Palestinian-owned land to build settler-only road near Bethlehem

The Israeli occupation forces confiscated Palestinian-owned land today to construct a new road for illegal Israeli settlers in the town of Tuqu’, southeast of Bethlehem, reported Wafa news agency.

Hassan Brijiyeh, director of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee in the city of Bethlehem, said occupation forces took control of five dunams (0.5 hectares) of Palestinian land in areas such as Al-Muruj, Ka’ibana, Umm Al-Nufus, Wa’ar Kharitoun, Muharib and Al-Uqban, under two military decisions.

This comes as part of the occupation’s plans to establish a settler-only road connecting the illegal settlements of Izdbar and Nokdim, both situated on lands belonging to Palestinian citizens.

Last month, the Israeli occupation government approved the construction of 1,738 settlement units in the southeast of occupied Jerusalem.

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In a statement published on its website, Israeli rights group Peace Now said the Israeli decision “effectively seals off the last remaining corridor connecting the Palestinian neighbourhoods of Beit Safafa and Sharafat with the rest of East Jerusalem.”

The plan, which was approved on 29 November, includes 1,230 residential units, 262 special housing units and 246 small apartment units, Peace Now explained.

UN resolutions and international law state that settlement in occupied territories is illegal, with many countries and rights groups warning that it is an obstacle to the establishment of a Palestinian state.