TUBAS, June 22, 2026 (WAFA) – The Governorate of Tubas and the Northern Jordan Valley held an expanded meeting on Monday with the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) to discuss the geopolitical reality in the governorate amid escalating Israeli colonization and military measures.
The meeting took place at the governorate headquarters with the participation of officials from official departments, ARIJ Director Jad Isaac, and the director of the Colonization Monitoring Unit at the institute, Suhail Khalilieh, alongside representatives of local institutions and bodies.
The institute presented a detailed briefing supported by maps and documented data, addressing the reality of colonies, bypass roads, military checkpoints, military orders, and the separation wall in the Tubas and Northern Jordan Valley Governorate.
Khalilieh explained that colonial activity in the governorate began immediately after the 1967 war with the establishment of the "Mehola" colony, serving as the nucleus of the colonial project in the Northern Jordan Valley, adding that it later expanded as part of a policy aimed at controlling agricultural lands and water sources, thereby consolidating the Israeli presence in the region.
He said there are eight colonies inhabited by more than 3,320 colonists, pointing out that their built-up area spans approximately 8,589 dunams, while their area of jurisdiction reaches around 12,895 dunams, equivalent to 3.2 percent of the governorate's total area.
He added that the impact of these colonies extends beyond the built-up borders, as colonists control about 12,564 dunams of surrounding agricultural lands, representing nearly 18 percent of the total agricultural land in the Jordan Valley.
The presentation also addressed the expansion of colony outposts of a "pastoral" nature, explaining that more than 12 outposts were established in the governorate between 1996 and 2025, serving as an advanced tool to seize open lands.
Regarding military checkpoints, ARIJ data revealed the presence of 22 military checkpoints and obstacles distributed throughout the governorate, including iron gates, permanent checkpoints, dirt mounds, trenches, and concrete blocks.
The institute stressed that these checkpoints contribute to isolating Tubas from other West Bank cities, particularly Nablus and Jenin.
It affirmed that they restrict the access of farmers and herders to the Jordan Valley and impede the movement of workers and goods, which raises transportation costs and negatively impacts economic activity and basic services.
The Hamra and Tayasir checkpoints are among the most prominent control points accessing the Jordan Valley, which forms the backbone of the governorate's agricultural economy.
The briefing also pointed to the development of a bypass road network stretching nearly 58 kilometers, most notably Roads 90 and 578, which connect the colonies to each other and to Israel, while Palestinian access to them is heavily restricted.
On the issue of military orders, the institute explained that hundreds of orders have been issued since 1967, including for home demolitions, land confiscations for the construction of colonies and bypass roads, and the seizure of water sources.
The meeting also touched upon the separation wall, which extends 15.5 kilometers through the northern and northwestern parts of the governorate, isolating about 2,650 dunams of land, including 1,873 dunams of agricultural land.
The institute revealed the issuance of nine military orders to seize private and public lands to construct a military road exceeding 40 kilometers in length between Ein Shibli and Tayasir, as part of a project to reshape ground control in the Jordan Valley.
According to ARIJ data, a new 22.5-kilometer section of the wall is also being implemented under the "Scarlet Thread" project, also referred to as the "Crimson Thread", which could lead to the isolation of about 45,000 dunams—equivalent to 11 percent of the governorate's area—threatening to separate farmers from their lands and displace entire communities.
A.D./T.R.
