jordan pulse -

Israeli occupation authorities have issued a new military order seizing 15.342 dunams of land in the city of Al-Bireh, located in the central occupied West Bank, to construct a 3.835-kilometer "security route" encircling the Psagot settlement on Jabal Al-Taweel, according to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
The seizure creates a new buffer zone around the settlement, severely restricting Palestinian access to the land trapped between the settlement's urban footprint and the newly designated route.
In a statement released Thursday, the Commission detailed that the order targets land within organized plots 17, 20, 21, and 22 in Al-Bireh, transferring actual possession directly to the military commander through the officer in charge of the Israeli Ministry of Defense affairs.
The Commission noted that while the order was originally signed on June 18, 2025, and set to remain in effect until December 31, 2027, landowners were given just a seven-day window to file objections starting from the date of an assigned field inspection.
Site maps reveal that the route does not target an isolated plot, but rather creates an almost complete perimeter around Psagot.
Initial mapping measurements indicate that, beyond the directly confiscated land, the military order effectively blocks Palestinians from accessing more than 380 additional dunams trapped between the settlement's existing structures and the newly defined corridor. While this broader area is not listed under the official confiscation figures, constructing the route effectively isolates the land, restricts access for its owners, and places it under the settlement's de facto security control.
This measure reflects a broader escalation by occupation authorities since October 7, 2023, during which 46 military orders have been issued to establish buffer zones around settlements.
The trend demonstrates how these buffer zones have shifted from temporary "security measures" into a systematic tool for expanding settlement control and annexing Palestinian land—bypassing the need for immediate construction plans or formal title transfers.
WAFA