RAMALLAH, November 3, 2026 (WAFA) — The Israeli occupation authorities have issued a military order to seize 26.473 dunums of land belonging to the towns of Deir Nizam, Umm Safa, and Atara, northwest of Ramallah. The seizure is intended for the construction of a colonial route—designated as the "Ataret–Neve Tzuf Emergency Route"—under the pretext of "military purposes."
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission stated that the military order, numbered (T/48/26) and issued on October 28, remains in effect until the end of 2028. It grants the military commander exclusive possession of the lands specified in the attached maps, effectively placing a strip of land from the three towns under military control to facilitate connectivity between colonial sites.
The Commission explained that the area covered by the order includes 5.891 dunums classified by the occupation authorities as "state land"—accounting for approximately 22.3% of the total area—while the remaining 20.582 dunums fall outside this classification.
It added that this distribution reveals how land classification mechanisms and military seizure orders are used in tandem to secure land for colonial infrastructure, by incorporating both "state land" and non-classified land into a single route designed to link settlements and their expansions.
The Commission indicated that the significance of this corridor extends beyond the specific area of land targeted, given its potential role in strengthening the connectivity network between settlements, outposts, and colonial expansions in the vicinity of the "Ateret" and "Halamish" (also known as "Neve Tzuf") settlements. This would facilitate the movement of colonists and consolidate their presence amidst Palestinian towns, while potentially imposing further restrictions on the access of landowners to adjacent plots, depending on how the order is implemented.
It further emphasized that, although the military order—which regulates the seizure and possession of land for a specified period—does not in itself transfer legal ownership, it raises fundamental questions regarding the use of military authority to entrench the colonial infrastructure and expand the scope of its control.
K.T
