Jerusalem, February 5, 2026 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation authorities began work today, Thursday, on paving the colonial “45” road north of occupied Jerusalem, as part of a colonial plan aimed at linking settlements north of Jerusalem and east of Ramallah to the city of Jerusalem, and strengthening colonial control over its surroundings .
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the road extends from the town of Mikhmas in the east to the Qalandia tunnel in the west, and will later be connected to the colonial “443” road, with a length estimated at about 5 kilometers in its current phase, as part of a system of colonial bypass roads that tighten the noose around the occupied city of Jerusalem and redraw the surrounding geography .
She pointed out that the road aims to facilitate the movement of settlers and connect the settlement blocs north of Jerusalem and east of Ramallah directly to the city of Jerusalem and within the 1948 territories, which contributes to encouraging settlement and attracting settlers to live in the settlements established around the city, in addition to controlling the eastern and northern slopes of Jerusalem, and changing the geographical and demographic character of the region .
The Jerusalem Governorate pointed out that the project constitutes a central tool in isolating occupied Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings and cutting off geographical communication between the northern and central parts of the West Bank, as part of the practical implementation of the Greater Jerusalem plan in the Israeli sense, and imposing permanent colonial realities on the ground that serve the annexation project and consolidate Israeli control over the city and its surroundings .
The occupation authorities had seized approximately 280 dunams of citizens’ land belonging to the towns of Mikhmas, Jaba’, Al-Ram and Kafr Aqab, north of occupied Jerusalem, in order to pave the road, under military orders, despite the objections of the residents. According to the announced data, the cost of implementing the colonial road amounts to approximately 400 million shekels .
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E.R.
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