Jerusalem Governorate: The occupation is exploiting regional tensions to expand colonization and isolate the city.

The Jerusalem Governorate expressed its deep concern over the escalating Israeli field measures aimed at strangling the city of Jerusalem and completely isolating it from its Palestinian surroundings. These measures include the installation of new iron gates, the intensification of military checkpoints, and the acceleration of colonial expansion and annexation.

Today, Wednesday, the occupation authorities installed a new gate at the entrance to the town of Anata, northeast of the city. A few days earlier, they had installed a gate at the entrance to Jaba' and another at the entrances to the town of Hizma. This is part of a rapidly escalating Israeli policy to fragment the city and exert complete control over movement within it.

The governorate explained that these developments coincide with the occupation's exploitation of the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip and the escalation with Iran. The Israeli government is seeking to implement annexation plans, expand the borders of the Jerusalem municipality, increase the number of settlers, and build new settlements in the area, all while the world is distracted by what is happening in the occupied city.

At the same time, the city is witnessing unprecedented tightening of security at major military checkpoints, most notably Qalandia, Shuafat, Jaba', and the Container. This has led to their near-total closure to vehicles, disrupting the lives of citizens. Waiting times have exceeded six hours per day, and many have been subjected to humiliation and abuse at the crossings.

The Jerusalem Governorate also highlighted the field impact of these measures, citing the incident at the Jaba' military checkpoint, where the deputy governor was forced to walk to his workplace in the town of al-Ram, amidst a complete lockdown and severe overcrowding. This scene epitomizes the suffering of thousands of Palestinians who are stuck for long hours every day at checkpoints.

The occupation forces also set up mobile "flying" checkpoints in Jerusalem towns and neighborhoods such as Silwan, Jabal al-Mukaber, Issawiya, al-Eizariya, and Hizma, in conjunction with search and arrest campaigns and the imposition of heavy fines.

The report indicated that Jerusalem is now surrounded by 85 checkpoints, including earthworks, fixed and mobile iron gates, and the expansionist apartheid wall, effectively turning it into a closed prison where racial segregation is enforced by force.

She emphasized that these measures are part of an integrated plan to fully control the city, including its Islamic and Christian holy sites, as part of an undeclared annexation project being implemented amid the international community's preoccupation with the Palestinian capital.

In this context, local and international media outlets and social media activists called for increased coverage of these violations and for efforts to convey the voice of Jerusalem and its events to the world, in the face of the policies of silencing and media blackout pursued by the occupation authorities, which aim to cover up crimes and restrict freedoms.

The report concluded by emphasizing that international silence gives the occupation a green light to proceed with its colonial and Judaization projects, and that media and popular solidarity with Jerusalem has become an urgent necessity to confront these existential threats.