JERUSALEM, August 5, 2026 (WAFA) – The Israeli group Ir Amim revealed on Wednesday that the Israeli occupation authorities were advancing a new colonial settlement plan that would further isolate Jerusalem from Bethlehem and the southern occupied West Bank.

Ir Amim said that the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem’s Planning and Building Committee approved the plan that envisages the construction of 2,300 units on approximately 20 hectares (around 200 dunums) in the Gilo colony, while expanding the colony southward toward Route 60, which links Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

It added that the plan involves the expropriation of at least 28 privately-owned dunums under the so-called Absentees' Property Law, which the occupation authorities utilize to seize Palestinian property.

The project is part of the broader expansion of the Givat Hamatos and Har Homa colonies. It aims to entrench the geographical separation between East Jerusalem and the southern West Bank, isolate the city of Bethlehem from Jerusalem, and impose new colonial realities on the ground.

The group noted that the targeted area includes Palestinian agricultural land and olive groves, which are now at the risk of being razed once implementation of the project begins.

K.F.