Palestinians Protest Israel’s Construction of Military Road in Northeast of Occupied Jerusalem

Jerusalem, MINA – Palestinian residents of the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied Jerusalem on Friday participated in a march condemning the Israeli occupation forces’ opening of a road that will be used by the military in the al-Thaghara area to the west of the town, according to Wafa reported.

The town residents performed Friday prayers for the third week in a row on the lands surrounding the road, before they marched carrying the Palestinian flag, chanting slogans, and carrying banners condemning Israel’s settlement activities, while the occupation soldiers deployed in the vicinity of the area.

Participants angrily chanted slogans against Israel’s settlement activates, its policy of seizing dozens of dunums of the town’s lands, and depriving citizens and shepherds access to their lands.

Israeli forces have been leveling land belonging to Palestinian residents to open a one-kilometer-long and 16-meters-wide road that will be used by the military.

According to the Israeli anti-settlement group, Peace Now, “Over the years, Israel has used a number of legal and bureaucratic procedures in order to appropriate West Bank lands, with the primary objective of establishing settlements and providing land reserves for them.”

“Using primarily these five methods: seizure for military purposes; declaration of state lands; seizure of absentee property; confiscation for public needs; and initial registration, Israel has managed to take over about 50% of the lands in the West Bank, barring the local Palestinian public from using them.” (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)