A Destroyed Road and its Consequences

The trench dug in the destroyed section of the road. Photo courtesy of residents

In January 2026, without prior notice or a demolition order, security forces and employees of the Jerusalem Municipality destroyed a section of more than 200 meters (over 650 feet) of a main road in the neighborhood of Kafr Aqab and created a deep trench. This section of road serves as the only access route for more than a thousand neighborhood residents, and its destruction has created serious hazards: the excavation damaged electricity cables, water pipes, and sewage pipes; residents are forced to make their way through piles of dirt, large rocks, metal debris, and pools of sewage that have accumulated along the excavated route; ambulances, fire and rescue vehicles, and special education transportation services are unable to reach residents’ homes; the elderly and people with disabilities, who cannot navigate the destroyed roadway, are effectively confined to their homes; and garbage collection has been suspended. Repeated appeals to various municipal authorities, the municipal water and wastewater company, and security officials demanding that the road and sewage system be repaired were met with authorities shifting responsibility from one to another. 

Residents were told that the purpose of the excavation was to prevent people from crossing over a nearby fence (not part of the separation barrier) into an undeveloped area belonging to the inactive Atarot Airport zone. Following the destruction of the road, security personnel informed residents that they were prohibited from approaching the fence, and Border Police officers and soldiers have periodically thrown tear gas grenades toward residents and their homes from the other side of the fence, without any warning or security-related justification. 

On August 6, 2026, ACRI submitted an appeal to the Mayor of Jerusalem; the Commander of the Jerusalem Envelope Border Police; and the CEO of Hagihon, the water and wastewater company, demanding immediate action to repave the destroyed section of road, repair the sewage pipes that were damaged, and to immediately cease the unlawful practice of throwing tear gas grenades toward residents and their homes. In the appeal, ACRI Attorney Tal Hassin argued that the destruction of the road and sewage pipes was unreasonable, as it was carried out without making any effort to provide an alternative access route for neighborhood residents and without considering the consequences of the destruction for the hundreds of people living there.

If the road was destroyed for security reasons, authorities should have adopted alternatives that would have had a lesser impact on residents, for example, by raising the height of the fence.

Moreover, the municipality, Hagihon, and the security authorities have obligations toward the residents of Kafr Aqab, which falls within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries and whose residents are Israeli citizens and permanent residents. Throwing tear gas toward neighborhood residents and their homes for no reason, when there is no disorder and the security forces face no danger, contravenes police procedures and constitutes an arbitrary and unlawful use of force. 

ACRI’s appeal, August 6, 2026 (Heb)