JERUSALEM, January 19, 2026 (WAFA) – Dozens of Israeli colonists, accompanied by the extremist deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Aryeh King, stormed Beit Iksa village northwest of occupied Jerusalem in an attempt to seize a plot of land in the western part of the village, according to a local official.

Murad Zaid, head of the Beit Iksa Village Council, told WAFA that the colonists raided areas west of the village and sought to seize land owned by local residents by surrounding it with barbed wire, in an attempt to impose a new reality paving the way for future confiscation.

He added that residents confronted the colonists and blocked their actions, before Israeli occupation forces intervened, formally evacuating the colonists and declaring the area a “closed military zone,” preventing villagers from accessing their lands.

He emphasized that this attempt is part of a systematic policy targeting the isolated lands of Beit Iksa, which are encircled by the Mevaseret Zion colonial settlement, illegally established on the village lands, and the depopulated Qaluniya village.

These lands are repeatedly subjected to attacks and seizure attempts by colonists, with the direct backing of the Israeli municipality of west Jerusalem, as part of broader plans to expand colonial settlements and impose a new demographic reality around occupied Jerusalem.

Beit Iksa suffers from strict occupation measures, including a single military checkpoint controlling village entrances, as well as restrictions on construction and access to agricultural lands, further exacerbating the residents’ hardships and threatening their continued presence on their land.

T.R.