Bethlehem - Saba:
Israeli enemy forces began leveling vast areas of land in the town of Tuqu', southeast of Bethlehem, on Thursday, in preparation for the construction of a new settlement road in the area.
Local Palestinian sources reported that Israeli enemy forces stormed the town, accompanied by bulldozers and heavy machinery, and were stationed in the Qanan Saqir and Fasoura areas, where they began leveling lands belonging to the Al-Asakra, Al-Zeer, and Jibrin families.
The same sources explained that the settlement road being constructed will lead to the seizure of thousands of additional dunams of Palestinian land under the pretext of "securing the road." They emphasized that this project comes in the context of an escalation of the annexation and Judaization policy in the town's vicinity.
They indicated that settlers exploited the prevailing conditions during the ongoing war and seized more than 20,000 dunams of Palestinian land in the vicinity of Tuqu' for pastoral settlement, benefiting from the cover provided by the Israeli military.
The sources noted that the Israeli enemy continues to restrict the movement of Palestinian citizens in the town by installing approximately seven iron gates at the entrances and exits of neighborhoods, isolating large parts of the town and restricting movement between its neighborhoods and neighboring villages.
The town of Tuqu' is located on the southeastern outskirts of the Bethlehem Governorate and has faced a continuous escalation in the pace of settlement attacks and the seizure of agricultural and pastoral lands for years, in an attempt to impose a fait accompli that severs the geographical contiguity between the Palestinian towns in the area
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