Israel approves controversial road project near occupied East Jerusalem
Israel’s security cabinet has approved the settlement road project late on Saturday, according to the Israeli media.
The road will redirect and separate Israeli and Palestinian traffic in the occupied West Bank, and will further isolate Palestinians in the area.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz, and two settlement chiefs welcomed the decision on Sunday, Israeli reports said. The project includes an underground road in the occupied West Bank, allowing Israel to move forward with plans to expand settlements in E1, an area beyond the Green Line.
While the road would link Palestinian towns, it would also separate them from the rest of the West Bank and restrict Palestinian movement on key routes between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, which would remain accessible primarily to Israelis.
According to the report, the move could facilitate the formal annexation of Ma’ale Adumim, a large settlement east of Jerusalem, with significant political implications for the West Bank.
Welcoming the cabinet’s approval, Netanyahu said Sunday: “We continue to strengthen Israeli security and develop settlements.”
And still claiming there is no apartheid, the word literally means separation.
Physical Separation: Apartheid laws mandated separate residential areas, public facilities, transportation, education, and healthcare systems for different racial groups.
Hamas slams controversial road project near occupied East Jerusalem
Hamas’s statement on Telegram comes after Israel’s security cabinet approved the settlement road project late yesterday.
The group said the project will pave strategic roads aimed at strengthening the connection between settlements and isolating Palestinian towns surrounding the Ma’ale Adumim settlement.
It added: “The occupation’s continued settlement projects in occupied Jerusalem reveal its malicious intentions and plans to strengthen settlements and push for the displacement of Palestinians from the Holy City.”
