Israeli plan to reopen settler ‘Route 463’ threatens to isolate Ramallah

The Israeli army is reportedly preparing to reopen Route 463 to settler traffic, threatening to isolate eight Palestinian villages and two large residential neighborhoods in the occupied West Bank. The road, about 10 km long, connects el-Bireh to Ein Qiniya and was originally built in the 1990s but was closed during the Second Intifada. The reopening is part of a 355 million dollar settler infrastructure budget aimed at connecting settlements in the West Bank, bypassing the Knesset, and may be implemented before the Israeli elections on October 27. The plan is criticized for fragmenting Palestinian territory and is linked to broader policies of territorial disconnection.