[News] Crimson Thread: The new Israeli separation wall that cuts through the 'breadbasket of Palestine'

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/crimson-thread-israel-separation-wall-cuts-through-palestine-west-bank>
Crimson Thread: The new Israeli separation wall that cuts through the
'breadbasket of Palestine'
Muhammad Ateeq
June 25, 2026
------------------------------
[image: image.png]

Palestinian farmers in the Jordan Valley have been forced to flee their
lands, known as the 'breadbasket of Palestine', as Israel accelerates
construction of another separation wall (Muhammad Ateeq/MEE)

Khairallah Bani Odeh feels as if he's living in a giant prison.

Forced to leave his lands in the village of Atouf in the northern Jordan
Valley, he relocated to the town of Tammoun, south of Tubas, after a
combination of settler attacks, water shortages and sweeping Israeli
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel> land grabs made life
unbearable.

Like many Palestinians <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine> in
the northern Jordan Valley, Bani Odeh relied on sheepherding and farming
for his livelihood.

But since Israel began construction on a new separation wall and road that
will cut through the Buqe'aa Plain, large areas of land have been swallowed
up, reshaping daily life for residents.

Israel has named the project "Crimson Thread". It involves the construction
of a 22-kilometre-long and 50-meter-wide separation wall and accompanying
road along the eastern lands of Tubas.

The project will leave large parts of the Buqe'aa Plain and eastern Atouf
behind the road and wall, making it impossible for farmers and shepherds to
access their agricultural land and grazing areas.

Bani Odeh told Middle East Eye that when construction began, Israeli
settlers used bulldozers to destroy water lines supplying hundreds of
hectares of farmland in the plain, causing crop damage and leaving
livestock without water.

[image: Khairallah Bani Odeh was forced to leave his village after the
Israeli military began excavating the lands of Atouf in order to construct
a 22-kilometre-long separation wall (Muhammad Ateeq/MEE)]
Khairallah Bani Odeh was forced to leave his village after the Israeli
military began excavating the lands of Atouf in order to construct a
22-kilometre-long separation wall (Muhammad Ateeq/MEE)

[image: image.gif]For many families, it was the final push to leave.

"They cut off our water supply, so I had to buy water from neighboring
villages for the livestock. I used to walk long distances to fetch water.
Then they burned the barley and made our lives unbearable, so we were
forced to leave," he added.

Dozens of families, including Bani Odeh's, depended on livestock farming in
Atouf, while hundreds more relied on agriculture across the plain.
Residents say both sources of income have been devastated by the new
project.

Three months after leaving Atouf, Bani Odeh says he still feels trapped. He
struggles to find grazing land for his livestock and dreams of returning
home every day.
Crops left to wither

Local estimates indicate that more than 20,000 dunams (2000 hectares) are
threatened by drought or damage because of water shortages.

Many families in Atouf and Ras al-Ahmar depend on livestock farming. As
pastureland shrinks and access to water becomes more limited, farmers fear
declining livestock numbers and rising production costs.

Anis Bisharat once carefully tended fields of melons, okra, cucumbers and
zucchini. But after water lines were cut, his crops began to wither as
irrigation became impossible, resulting in significant losses.

"In addition to the water cut, they closed the road we used to reach the
plain. Now we have to travel twice the distance and pay twice the fuel
cost," he told MEE.

[image: Israeli settlers and soldiers have blocked Palestinians from
accessing villages in the fertile Jordan Valley (Muhammad Ateeq/MEE)]
Israeli settlers and soldiers have blocked Palestinians from accessing
villages in the fertile Jordan Valley (Muhammad Ateeq/MEE)

[image: image.gif]Muhammad Gharaibeh, another farmer, says a settler
established an outpost on a hilltop overlooking the Buqe'aa Plain and has
repeatedly targeted local agriculture.

"This plain is the breadbasket of Palestine, and most of the fruits and
vegetables distributed in the West Bank come from here," he said.

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/after-year-displacement-tulkarm-palestinian-families-allowed-home-two-hours>

After a year of displacement, Tulkarm's Palestinians allowed home for two
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"But now they have a massive plan that not only involves building a road
but also seizing more than 70,000 dunams. Our losses are enormous because
the crops need irrigation and care, and they've been left to suffer," he
added.

Farmers are attempting to save nearby crops with whatever water they can
access, but fields farther away have largely been left to dry out.

"More than 40,000 dunams of crops are now without water. My crops have been
without water for two weeks, and this is just the beginning of the
scorching summer season, which means the entire harvest will be lost," he
lamented.

According to preliminary data from the Atouf Village Council, 24,000 dunams
belonging to about 300 farmers are facing drought and damage because of the
ongoing bulldozing operations.

The affected area represents roughly a quarter of the Buqe’aa Plain, which
covers 96,000 dunams.
'Nothing remains'

Last November, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed details of the
"Crimson Thread" project, describing it as a military road and separation
wall stretching across Palestinian land from the village of Ein Shibli in
the central Jordan Valley to the Tayasir military checkpoint.

Following the report, Israeli authorities issued military seizure orders
for 1,042 dunams of Palestinian land along the route of the planned barrier.

Since the beginning of this year, bulldozers have been carrying out
continuous work on the project, which residents and experts say will
isolate vast areas of land and place thousands more dunams beyond
Palestinian access.

'The annexation process is taking place on the ground in full view of the
entire world. It has been halted in the media, but it hasn't stopped on the
ground'

- *Mu'taz Bisharat, settlement expert*

The Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem said in a report published
in April that the Jordan Valley is among the areas where Palestinian
presence is most heavily restricted, despite accounting for approximately
30 percent of the occupied West Bank.

According to the report, 62 Palestinian communities in Areas B and C, home
to more than 4,100 Palestinians, had been displaced by April as a result of
a combination of settler violence and Israeli restrictions.

The rights group also reported that 53.4 percent of the Jordan Valley has
been designated as "state land," 45.7 percent as military firing and
training zones, and about 20 percent as nature reserves.

Settlement expert Mu'taz Bisharat told MEE that developments in the Jordan
Valley amount to a tightening of Israeli control over large areas and are
threatening the continued presence of Palestinian communities there.

He said many families have already been displaced and described the
destruction of water infrastructure as an attack on the foundations of life
in the region.

"There is no agriculture left," he said.

"Today, 70 percent of the land in this area has been lost due to the
compounded crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the
Palestinian people, the Palestinian presence, and Palestinian agriculture.
Nothing remains for the Palestinian citizen," he added.

Bisharat believes the new road is intended to establish new boundaries in
the Jordan Valley and further separate the area from the rest of the
occupied West Bank.

"Today, the annexation process is taking place on the ground in full view
of the entire world," he said.

"It has been halted in the media, but it hasn't stopped on the ground."
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