Route 60 connects several settlements near Ramallah and Nablus, and its expansion further fragmented Palestinian communities in the occupied territory.
Written by Fayha Shalash and Mohammed Turkman, West Bank, Occupied Palestine
Israel has ordered the confiscation of large swaths of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank to widen a road for Israeli settlers.
Route 60, one of the largest settlement roads in the West Bank, runs east of Ramallah and south of Nablus; its completion will require the expropriation of Palestinian lands along the road.
The project will expropriate privately owned, cultivated agricultural land to add new lanes and strengthen connections between illegal Jewish settlements in the area.
Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya, east of Ramallah, is among the Palestinian settlements most threatened by the project, as the road passes through large agricultural areas.
The Israeli expropriation notices mention the confiscation of hundreds of dunams (about 10 hectares), but the exact number is unknown, as farmers found the confiscation orders thrown on their land, rather than being delivered directly.
Taysir Salem, a landowner in Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya, told Middle East Eye that his grandfather owned 180 dunams (18 hectares) of land that his family inherited and planted with trees. Now they want to confiscate this land as well.
„They are extending Route 60 through our land, to our detriment; they are taking it by force and bulldozing half of the hill that belongs to us,” he said.
„All the surrounding towns are also suffering land grabbing because of the road,” he added.
Israeli land confiscation is accompanied by a campaign of intimidation by settlers to prevent local residents from fully utilizing their lands.
„"Last week, [the settlers] came with tractors and forced us at gunpoint to leave our land. We are in great danger because they want to take the land by force," Salem added.
Palestinian landowners have owned their farms for decades and have all the necessary documents to prove ownership. They called on the international community to act, given Israel's sense of impunity.
„"The American government has the power to stop Israel from taking our lands, but it doesn't. If it were any other country, it would have stopped them, but it won't force Israel," Salem concluded.
Trees to be destroyed
The announcement of the expansion of Route 60 coincides with the seizure of adjacent land by Israeli authorities. Last June, Israel announced the confiscation of 464 dunams of land belonging to the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah.
Palestinians see the expansion of Route 60 as one of the most important tools for consolidating the settlement project in the occupied West Bank. The road connects dozens of settlements and outposts to each other and to Israel, contributing to settlement expansion while fragmenting Palestinian lands and isolating villages and towns from their surrounding agricultural areas.
The decision affects land in several neighboring towns, including Al-Sawiya, Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, Sinjil, and Turmusayya.
Abdul Samad Abdul Aziz, spokesman for the Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya municipality, said that farmers found the notices near their lands a few days ago and brought them to the municipality's headquarters.
According to the notices, they have 60 days to appeal the decision, which will confiscate thousands of dunams of land in the city, along with thousands of olive trees, some of which locals say are over a thousand years old.
„"The decision is dangerous for the city and the farmers, and it is unfair because it cuts off their livelihood after their land and trees were stolen. We don't know what we will do," said Abdul Aziz.
The Wall and Settler Resistance Committee said in its semi-annual report this year that Israeli authorities had seized more than 4,379 dunams of Palestinian land from the beginning of 2026 to the end of June. According to the report, the seizures were carried out under various pretexts and through the issuance of 40 military orders. This led to the establishment of four buffer zones around the settlements, in addition to the construction of 16 security roads, 12 military outposts and other facilities.
Abdul Aziz said Palestinians have no choice but to turn to the world to stop the decision. „The residents will not be able to live without their land while the settlers are constantly attacking farmers and shooting at them whenever they try to approach their land,” he explained.
