Israeli army closes last route to West Bank village, isolating 47 Palestinian families

The Israeli army has closed the last access route leading 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 reports.

The closure came after “more than two months of shutting all dirt roads leading to the village,” Thaer Basharat, a resident, 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 has been turned into a “cage” surrounded by trenches, walls and military zones.

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“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 (360,000,000 square meters) had served as grazing land for farmers in the village, but 90% 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 occupiers have intensified against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank since the Gaza war in October 2023. Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the 1967 Middle East war.

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