Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Governorate has issued a warning regarding the Israeli occupation authorities' plan to implement the 'Road 45' settlement project. This project, set to commence in the coming weeks with an estimated budget of around 400 million shekels, aims to consolidate the annexation of colonial settlements north of Jerusalem and east of Ramallah, linking them directly to the city of Jerusalem.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the Governorate stated that the project seeks to connect settlements east of Ramallah and north of Jerusalem to Route 443, which leads to Jerusalem and the 1948 territories. The plan begins at the Mukhmas colonial settlement and extends west to the Qalandia checkpoint tunnel, providing colonists with shorter travel and direct access to cities within the 1948 territories.
The project is part of a broader expansion of bypass roads from the Hizma military checkpoint to Oyoun al-Haramiya east of Ramallah. This network is intended to reinforce colonial control and isolate northern Jerusalem and east Ramallah, creating areas dominated by settler presence and contributing to what has been described as 'demographic and geographic Judaization.'
The Governorate explained that Road 45 is an extension of a plan originating in 1983 under 'Military Order No. 50 on Roads,' designed to fragment Palestinian communities and isolate them with bypass roads. The occupation's aim is to integrate settlement infrastructure into its central network, erasing the Green Line and imposing 'de facto sovereignty' over the land, transforming the settlements into suburbs connected to the state center via highways.
Despite legal objections by landowners in areas such as Jaba', Qalandia, Kafr 'Aqab, Al-Ram, Mukhmas, and Barqa, the occupation authorities continue to issue tenders and conduct field work, particularly at the Qalandia tunnel. This persistence reflects an intent to establish facts on the ground prior to any judicial decisions, dismissing the rights of Palestinians as 'protected persons' under international law.
The Governorate emphasized that this project is part of a larger colonial vision to attract hundreds of thousands of colonists by facilitating residence in the West Bank while maintaining access to Jerusalem. The plan not only seizes land but also entrenches a system of segregation, developing an advanced road network for colonists at the expense of fragmenting Palestinian geography and hindering the development prospects of the original landowners.