Jerusalem 16-1-2026 (WAFA) – The Jerusalem Governorate warned of the Israeli occupation authorities’ plan to implement the “Road 45” colonial settlement project, following announcements that its construction will begin in the coming weeks with an estimated budget of around 400 million shekels, aiming to consolidate the annexation of colonial settlements north of Jerusalem and east of Ramallah and link them to the city of Jerusalem.
According to a statement issued by the Governorate, the project seeks to connect settlements east of Ramallah and north of Jerusalem directly to Route 443, which leads to Jerusalem and the 1948 territories.
The plan starts in front of the Mukhmas colonial settlement, established on lands of Mukhmas village northeast of occupied Jerusalem, and extends west to the Qalandia checkpoint tunnel, ensuring shorter travel for colonists and direct access to cities inside the 1948 territories.
The works run alongside major expansions of bypass roads from the Hizma military checkpoint to Oyoun al-Haramiya east of Ramallah, creating an interconnected network serving the settlements and reinforcing colonial control, turning northern Jerusalem and east Ramallah into isolated areas under settler dominance, in a policy described as “demographic and geographic Judaization.”
The Governorate clarified that Road 45 represents an extension of an old plan dating back to 1983 under “Military Order No. 50 on Roads,” which aimed to fragment Palestinian communities and isolate them behind bypass roads. Through this route, the occupation seeks to integrate the settlements’ infrastructure into its central network, in a practical attempt to erase the Green Line, impose “de facto sovereignty” on the land, and transform settlements into suburbs linked to the state center via highways.
The Governorate noted that legal objections by landowners in Jaba‘, Qalandia, Kafr ‘Aqab, Al-Ram, Mukhmas, and Barqa were treated as formal measures. Despite ongoing legal processes, the occupation continued issuing tenders and field work, particularly at the Qalandia tunnel, reflecting an intent to impose facts on the ground ahead of any judicial decision and disregard Palestinians’ rights as “protected persons” under international law.
The Governorate said the project is part of a wider colonial vision to attract hundreds of thousands of colonists by ensuring transportation, facilitating residence in the West Bank while maintaining access to Jerusalem.
The plan, said the governorate, not only seizes land but also entrenches a complete system of segregation, creating an advanced road network for colonists at the expense of fragmenting Palestinian geography and suffocating the development prospects of the original landowners.
T.R.
