‘Violent Illusion’ – Israel to Approve Budget for New Road Linking Illegal Settlements to Jerusalem
NEWS
Israel expropriated the land from the villages of Jaba, Kafr Aqab and Mukhmas for the purpose of building the road, according to an Israeli settlement watchdog group, Peace Now.
The Jerusalem Governorate has warned of a dangerous escalation in Israel’s illegal settlement expansion, following the announcement that the budget is to be approved for the building of the controversial Route 45 highway that would connect illegal Israeli Jewish settlements to Jerusalem, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
In a statement on Sunday, the governorate explained that the so-called “Quarry Road” would link the illegal Israeli settlements north of the city and east of Ramallah with Route 443, a major highway linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and will be built on approximately 280 dunums of land belonging to the Jerusalem Governorate. Large parts of Route 443 reportedly run through the occupied West Bank.
According to Peace Now, an Israeli settlement watchdog group, Israel expropriated the land from the villages of Jaba, Kafr Aqab, and Mukhmas “for the purpose of paving Highway 45, a new bypass road for settlers south of Ramallah.”
The watchdog said the planned road is intended to connect the Ramallah bypass road near the illegal settlement of Kochav Yaakov to the Qalandiya Underpass (a road that passes under the Qalandiya checkpoint and is in the final stages of construction). This will allow illegal settlers from the settlements east and north of Ramallah (such as Adam, Kochav Yaakov, Psagot, Beit El, Ofra, and others) “a quick and short access route to Israel, without having to go through the traffic jams at the entrance to Jerusalem at the Hizma checkpoint.”
‘Settlement Tool’
The construction of the roads “is another settlement tool being carried out in the West Bank on an unprecedented scale,” Peace Now said in a statement last week.
“The idea that roads that bypass the Palestinian communities will eliminate the political, diplomatic, and security problem known as the settlements enterprise is a dangerous, expensive, and violent illusion,” the organization added.
It emphasized that the confiscation of hundreds of dunams “for the sake of expensive roads that serve so few only highlights the injustice and absurdity of the government’s policy. Israel does not need more roads to bypass Palestinians, but ways to reach a political solution with them.”
The budget to be approved by the government’s Finance Committee in a meeting scheduled for Tuesday will also include a substantial allocation for what the Israeli authorities term the “development” of Road 437, extending from Hizma checkpoint to Jaba roundabout and the start of Road 60, with a total exceeding half a billion shekels, according to WAFA.
The Jerusalem Governorate reportedly said that these projects “are not merely infrastructure development,” but also part of Israel’s implementation of the so-called “Greater Jerusalem” project. It also aims to turn Palestinian towns “into fragmented and isolated islands,” while at the same time encouraging the illegal settlements through a “network of fast and secure roads,” according to WAFA.
The governorate pointed out that Israel “relies on flimsy pretexts under the name of public benefit, while in reality it seizes large areas of Palestinian lands, in a blatant violation of international law and UN legitimacy resolutions.”
Intended to Alter Landscape
It also warned that the occupation authorities continue to use all means to change the geography and Palestinian identity of the holy city of Jerusalem.
Peace Now pointed out that, according to international law, as well as according to the ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court, Israel is prohibited from expropriating land for settlement purposes or for the needs of Israelis.
“Therefore, in order for the expropriation to be legal, the state will claim that the road is also intended to serve the Palestinian population, even though it is clear that the logic and main purpose for building it is for the needs of the settlers who travel daily between the settlements and Israel,” the organization stated.
Record-Breaking Expansion
Since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023, Israeli authorities have escalated their settlement expansion project across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
According to Peace Now, 2025 was a record-breaking year for the expansion of illegal settlements.
“This is nothing to compare to previous governments,” Peace Now’s Yonatan Mizrachi told the Anadolu news agency in an interview. “The goal of this government … is to prevent a political solution based on a two-state solution.”
Peace Now said plans for 41 new illegal settlements were approved in 2025, making it the most extensive single year of settlement approvals on record. The figure includes both newly announced settlements and the retroactive legalization of previously unauthorized outposts.
(PC, WAFA, Anadolu)