Jerusalem, May 25, 2026 (WAFA) – An Israeli occupation court on Monday rejected a petition filed by the Israeli rights group Ir Amim against a colonial ‘public park’ project planned on vast tracts of Palestinian-owned land, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.

It said that the Israeli occupation authorities’ scheme targets lands in the two towns as part of a project aimed at linking the city of Jerusalem with the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim and the colonial E1 area, in a move that would restrict the natural urban expansion of al-Tur and al-Issawiya by classifying the Palestinian-owned lands as a “public park,” thereby obstructing the construction of homes, schools, infrastructure and essential services for residents.

Under the court’s ruling, the occupation authorities will proceed with implementing the project, which is viewed as part of broader effort to strengthen Israeli control over the Old City of Jerusalem and its surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods and link Jerusalem with surrounding colonies.

The Governorate noted that the indigenous Palestinian population and supporting human rights organizations had been fighting a legal battle spanning nearly two decades to freeze the project or limit its impact. In previous periods, they succeeded in delaying the plan and introducing partial amendments to it.

K.F.