The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the new restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities on the residents of three Palestinian villages in northwest of occupied East Jerusalem. Under Israeli Military Order No. 1651, residents are now required to obtain special permits to enter and remain in their own villages.

This measure deepens the separation policy and imposes a new reality that turns the daily lives of Palestinians into a series of restrictions and hardships. It also exposes Israel’s systematic efforts to entrench the annexation policy and consolidate a Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem. The order requires residents to obtain magnetic cards and permits to pass through Qalandia checkpoint, while entry is prohibited for anyone lacking such permits. This demonstrates that the stated aim is not security, as claimed by the Israeli authorities, but rather a pretext to tighten control and isolate the three villages from their Palestinian surroundings.

According to information gathered by PCHR’s staff, on the morning of Saturday, 20 September 2025, the Israeli occupation authorities forced residents of Beit Iksa and Nabi Samwil villages and al-Khalayilah neighborhood to obtain special permits to enter and remain in their villages, This measure further entrenches the separation policy, restricts freedom of movement, and tightens control over Palestinian-owned land.

This arbitrary measure is based on Israeli Military Order No. 1651, titled “Closure of Contact Area 25/01 in Judea and Samaria,” No. 5875-2025, which designated the three villages as closed contact areas. Entry or residence is prohibited for anyone except permanent residents holding special permits under specific conditions, under the pretext of preventing “sabotage operations” against Israel. The order remains in effect until 31 December 2027.

In this context, Murad Zayed, Head of Beit Iksa Village Council, stated to PCHR’s staff that the Israeli Liaison Office informed the local councils of its intention to designate the three villages as a so-called “contact area” in the coming weeks, compelling residents to obtain magnetic cards and special permits from Qalandia checkpoint. He clarified that the order requires holding a special permit for residence and access to the area under specific conditions, while entry is prohibited for anyone without a permit. Zayed added that residents’ ID numbers were previously registered at Israeli checkpoints, allowing them to enter and exit freely, and that the entry of visitors and workers into these villages was coordinated through the village council, with their IDs recorded at military checkpoints under the supervision of council companions. However, anyone without a permit will now be barred from entering. He emphasized that the aim is not to regulate or facilitate movement or to provide security, but rather to escalate measures intended to isolate residents from their Palestinian surroundings and turn their daily lives into a series of restrictions and prolonged waits at checkpoints. He also noted that most residents hold Palestinian IDs, and the “contact area” permit will not allow them to enter Israel.

The villages targeted by the order have been under the burden of the siege imposed by the annexation wall and Israeli military checkpoints for decades. This has obstructed their urban and demographic growth, further deepening their isolation amid the surrounding settlement expansion, particularly in the “Givat Ze’ev” settlement outpost.

Beit Iksa village has a population of approximately 2,000 and extends over around 9,000 dunums, while Nabi Samwil village is home to about 300 residents, confined to a remaining 1,050 dunums after most of its land was confiscated by Israel. Al-Khalayilah neighborhood houses approximately 650 people within an area of about 4,000 dunums, encircled by four settlements that fragment its lands.

The residents are also deprived of basic services, such as medical centers and schools, and are forced to move under complex procedures just to obtain their most basic daily needs.

In parallel with these restrictions, the Israeli occupation authorities issued orders on the same day to seize approximately 140 dunums from ‘Anata village, northeast of Jerusalem, for the benefit of the Israeli municipality. This is intended to serve the “E1” settlement project, which aims to link the Ma’ale Adumim settlement to occupied Jerusalem, isolate the city from its Palestinian surroundings, and sever the connection between the northern and southern parts of the West Bank.

This coincided with an agreement signed by the Israeli government on 11 September 2025, allocating over 3 billion shekels for the development of settlement infrastructure and the construction of more than 7,600 new settlement units, including 3,400 units on the land seized under the “E1” project.

These measures are part of a comprehensive Israeli policy that imposes systematic restrictions on Palestinian movement in occupied East Jerusalem, establishes settlements, and confiscates land to consolidate the “Greater Jerusalem” reality and alter wide-scale demographic and geographic changes. Within the past week only, the Israeli Occupation Fores (IOF) established two metal detector gates at the entrances to Al-Ram village; one at the entrance to Mukhmas village while the other at Al-Eizariya village’s entrance, bringing the total number of checkpoints and metal detector gates in Jerusalem and its suburbs to 88 by mid-September 2025. This reinforces the policy of collective punishment imposed on Palestinians, while settlers enjoy unrestricted freedom of movement.

These Israeli measures and practices, including land confiscations, the construction of settlements such as the E1 project, and restrictions on freedom of movement, reflect a comprehensive strategy aimed at creating a Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem and isolating it from its Palestinian surroundings. This has directly affected the Palestinian residents, who have experienced a decline in basic services, daily difficulties in movement, restrictions on education and employment, and ongoing violations of their civil rights.

These policies and attempts to impose a new, unilateral reality come amid the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for nearly two years, alongside the international community’s silence and inaction. This silence effectively provides cover for Israel to escalate its crimes in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

PCHR emphasizes that these Israeli policies constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, particularly the Palestinians’ rights to freedom of movement, housing, education, employment, and health.

PCHR recalls the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s ruling issued in July 2024, which affirmed that the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, is illegal. The ruling obliges Israel to immediately end its unlawful presence and halt all settlement-related violations, including the evacuation of settlers from the occupied territories. PCHR calls on the international community to urgently intervene to halt these policies, which consolidate annexation policy and settlement expansion and impose an apartheid regime.

PCHR also urges the adoption of practical and effective measures, including imposing sanctions and holding Israeli leaders accountable, to halt the ongoing settlement expansion, which constitutes an ongoing war crime, and to ensure the protection of the fundamental rights of Palestinians in Jerusalem and across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).