Israeli Army Closes Last Route To West Bank Village, Isolating 47 Palestinian Families

RAMALLAH / ISTANBUL, Sept 19 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The Israeli army has closed the last access route to Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar, a small Palestinian village southeast of Tubas in the northern West Bank, completely isolating 47 Palestinian families for a fifth consecutive day, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

The closure came after “more than two months of shutting all dirt roads leading to the village,” resident Thaer Basharat told Anadolu on Saturday.

Basharat said the siege had been tightening for about three years but reached a critical stage five days ago, when the Israeli army dug a trench across the last remaining route to the village, which was only passable by livestock and agricultural tractors.

He said the village had been turned into a “cage” surrounded by trenches, walls and military zones.

“The 47 families in the village rely on livestock farming and are now unable to bring in their basic necessities or sheep feed,” he added.                      

Basharat said about 360,000 dunams (360 million square metres) had served as grazing land for farmers in the village, but 90 per cent of it had either been seized or placed off-limits, leaving farmers facing difficult conditions.

“The Israeli pressure aims to forcibly displace the entire community from the village,” he said.

Attacks by the Israeli army and settlers against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank have intensified since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the 1967 West Asia war.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU