Jerusalem Governorate: More land devoured for a settlement road

The Jerusalem Governorate announced on Sunday that the Israeli occupation municipality is moving to devour more land for a settlement road by approving a "huge" budget to expand the road north of the city.

The Governorate stated in a press release that the finance committee of the Israeli municipality "will hold a session tomorrow (Monday) to approve the budget allocated for the implementation of Road 45," known as the Quarries Road, north of Jerusalem.

It clarified that the existing road will devour about 280 dunams (a dunam equals one thousand square meters) of Jerusalem Governorate lands, and about half a billion shekels (about 160 million dollars) have been allocated for it under the item "development of Road 437".

According to the Governorate, the road extends from the Israeli military checkpoint of Hizma, northeast of Jerusalem, to the roundabout of Jaba' town, north of the city.

According to the Governorate, settlement projects are not merely infrastructure development, "but rather part of the occupation's strategy to strengthen the network of settlements and impose full control over the city and its surroundings, as part of what is known as 'accelerated colonial creep from planning to actual implementation'."

It added that the occupation exploits regional crises in the area, including the effects of the recent war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, "to accelerate colonial expansion projects and impose a new reality on Palestinian land."

It warned that Israeli policies "aim to isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, and transform Jerusalemite towns into scattered and isolated areas, while facilitating settlers' access to settlements at record speed and encouraging them to settle there."

The Governorate warned of widespread confiscation of Palestinian lands owned by citizens, "which constitutes a violation of international law."

It considered that the road planned for construction will constitute "a practical implementation of the so-called Greater Jerusalem plan according to the Israeli concept, and the annexation of settlements to the borders of the occupation municipality, with the occupation continuing to use all means to change the geography and Palestinian identity of the city, and exploiting all regional circumstances to accelerate the implementation of the plan, reflecting the escalation of violations and crimes in the holy city."

According to data from the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Israeli "planning committees" studied 107 structural plans during 2025, including 41 plans outside the occupation municipality's borders and 66 in settlements within the borders drawn by the municipality for the city of Jerusalem.