Israel don announce say dem wan build one big underground tunnel wey go be di only road wey go connect 1.5 million Palestinians for di occupied southern West Bank to di northern part of di territory.

Dis project na part of one bigger settlement plan wey dem dey call “Fabric of Life,” but e go change di way people dey waka for West Bank, and e no be for di benefit of Palestinians at all.

Di road go pass di eastern side of occupied Jerusalem through Judean Desert, and e go force Palestinians from Bethlehem and Hebron areas to dey use underground road go Jericho for Jordan Valley. Di Az-Zaim checkpoint go comot, and Road-1 go turn Israeli-only road, wey Palestinians no go fit use di surface area again.

One Palestinian political activist from Al-Eizariya for occupied East Jerusalem, wey we go call Khaled to protect im identity, talk say dis tunnel project na one of di most dangerous plans wey Israel don bring.

Di E-1 area, wey dem dey target, na 12-square-kilometer land wey go extend Jerusalem boundary. Dis area go divide West Bank and join am to Israel. Khaled talk say di project go collect thousands of dunums (1,000 square metres) of land from towns like Al-Eizariya, Abu Dis, Al-Sawahra, and Az-Zaim.

“Na big land grab be dis. Di road go pass Jabal Al-Baba and di separation wall reach Az-Zaim. Di plan na to expand settlement and push Palestinians comot from dia land,” Khaled yarn TRT World.

Di project wey go cost $90 million no go use Israeli taxpayers money. Instead, dem go use di money wey Israel dey collect from customs revenue wey dem suppose give Palestinian Authority, but dem dey always hold am or divert am.

Even though Israeli media dey call am transportation development plan, di tunnel na to make sure say Israel control East Jerusalem well-well and stop Palestinians from entering di area, according to wetin people for ground talk.

“Di occupation don dey make life hard for people for Al-Eizariya. Many families don dey leave di area. One man tell me say e dey late for work every day because of di road wahala. Di plan na to push us comot from Palestine,” Khaled add.

Khaled also talk say plenty people dey leave Palestine because of di wahala. E believe say di settlement expansion and restrictions na strategy to make Palestinians leave dia land.

“Settlers dey do bad things for northern West Bank and dem dey slowly move go Ramallah. People no dey see say dis na like cancer wey dey spread,” Khaled talk.

By early 2025, OCHA don identify 849 movement obstacles for West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Hebron, wey dey affect 3.3 million Palestinians. Di 712-km Barrier and di controls dey make movement and access to services hard, and e dey divide di area more.

Di tunnel project na part of one bigger Israeli annexation plan wey dem dey call “Greater Jerusalem.” Di plan na to join East Jerusalem to Israeli settlements wey dey stretch go Jordan Valley.

Di E-1 corridor, wey be 12-square-kilometer area, na di main part of di plan to expand Israel go Jordan Valley. Di “Fabric of Life” tunnel go cut through dis area, create Israeli-controlled strip, and isolate Palestinian areas.

Di same thing don happen before with di “Sovereignty Road,” wey be underground bypass wey separate Palestinian traffic from Israeli traffic. Di two road projects go make am hard for Palestinians to move freely.

“After di tunnel project, thousands of dunums go dey taken from Al-Eizariya, Abu Dis, Al-Sawahra, and Az-Zaim. E go make movement hard. If I wan go Ramallah now, e go take 30 minutes, but after di tunnel, e fit take two hours,” Khaled explain.

Di annexation dey happen as Israel dey continue di genocide for Gaza wey don kill over 58,000 people. But di tunnel plan don dey since before di current killings.

For 2021, Israel allocate $4.6 million to start di first phase of di “Fabric of Life” road. Di first phase na to isolate Al-Eizariya and Abu Dis, towns wey dey historically connected to Jerusalem.

Di area don dey change since di 1970s when dem build Maale Adumim, one of di biggest Israeli settlements for West Bank. Di settlement dey for di heart of E-1 corridor and e dey threaten to cut East Jerusalem from di rest of West Bank.

Khaled talk say di restrictions wey di occupation dey impose don scatter people life, especially for education and healthcare. “Di checkpoints dey make school children turn back because buses no fit enter town,” e talk.

Di Container Checkpoint na one of di worst places. People dey report harassment, detention, and even death. Khaled talk say e know one female student wey soldiers beat for checkpoint. People dey fear to help because dem fit shoot you.

“Many people don die, including my mama. She die for checkpoint because she no fit reach hospital,” Khaled talk with pain.