A report Monday from the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign said since the beginning of May, Israeli occupation forces have begun uprooting farming lands in the southwest of Jeeb village of Jerusalem.
The group said in a press release that a new "alternative" road is to be built for Palestinians, to apply an Apartheid travel system in which colonisers will have exclusive use over the traditional road in the area. Over 200 dunums of Palestinian land are to be destroyed.
The traditional road links the villages in northwest Jerusalem, from Biddu, to Ramallah for decades.
It added that colonisers in Bet Horon, Giv’at Ze’ev and Giv’on Hdsha have used the road for decades as it enables them to connect to other Jewish colonies across Jerusalem. With the new "alternative" road, the Occupation seals the use of the historical road for Jews-only.
The road is to fenced-in, a common feature of colonizer-roads in Palestine which act in the same way as the Apartheid Wall by ghettoizing Palestinian communities. The sole gate in the fence will be to allow Israeli Occupation Forces access to the ghetto created by the Wall of and road. That ghetto comprises al Jeeb, Judeira, Bir Nabala and Old Beit Hanina.
"The new road – built under the façade of creating Palestinian movement – will substitute for the traditional road which Palestinians have used for centuries," say the press release "this process will see more Palestinian lands in the West Bank destroyed. Moreover, in one area Palestinians will be funneled under the coloniser road using a tunnel.
The road and the tunnel will destroy a total of 180 dunums according to the military orders. However, villagers from al Jeeb have stated that an additional 40 -50 dunums will need to be annexed and uprooted in order to create the ghetto infrastructure.
*this article reprinted from the Palestinian News Agency, WAFA
