Jerusalem: Israeli occupation authorities on Thursday ordered the removal of wild vegetation and olive trees from the lands of Jaba' town near Jerusalem, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. The military order targets Palestinian-owned land in the Jaba' Plain area, covering 2 dunums and 502 square meters, as part of a plan to expand the colonial Road 437, which stretches from the Hizma military checkpoint to the Jaba' roundabout.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the order is part of a larger colonial project aimed at reshaping the road network around Jerusalem. This involves expanding existing roads, seizing privately owned Palestinian land, establishing buffer zones, and linking Israeli colonies north and east of Jerusalem to the colonial road network. These actions are seen as efforts to consolidate control over the land and isolate Palestinian villages and towns.
Furthermore, the occupation authorities recently issued another military order to seize 5 dunums and 283 square meters of land in Jaba' under the pretext of "military purposes." This order is part of a broader plan to construct and expand a colonial road connecting Road 60 near the Jaba' military checkpoint to Israel's apartheid wall alongside the colony of Neve Yaakov.
The ongoing takeover of Palestinian land, the uprooting of trees, and the implementation of colonial road projects are viewed as a systematic violation of Palestinians' rights to their land. These actions are seen as part of a policy aimed at entrenching a new colonial reality in the Jerusalem governorate and undermining the geographic and urban continuity between Palestinian towns.