ISTANBUL 

Israeli authorities began constructing a new settlement road north of occupied East Jerusalem, a Jerusalem governorate official reportedly said.

According to the governorate, the road stretches about six kilometers (3.7 miles), running from the town of Mikhmas east of occupied Jerusalem to the village of Qalandiya to the west, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday.

Officials said the project is part of a broader plan to develop a network of settlement bypass roads surrounding occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli authorities confiscated 280 dunams of land from four Palestinian towns to build the road, the governorate said. A dunam is a land measurement commonly used in the region, equal to about 1,000 square meters (0.25 acres).

Israeli military operations in the West Bank have intensified since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, including killings, home demolitions, displacement of Palestinians, and settlement expansion.

Palestinians say the escalation is intended to pave the way for Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, which they argue would effectively end prospects for a two-state solution envisioned in UN resolutions.

More than 1,110 Palestinians have been killed, about 11,500 wounded and over 21,000 arrested in the West Bank during this period, according to official Palestinian figures.