Through Israeli military-issued demolition orders and state-sanctioned settler violence, Israel seeks to ethnically cleanse the Jordan Valley of its Palestinian residents and erect what they call a “security wall” and “Jewish-only” road from the occupied Golan Heights to the Red Sea.
On March 5, 2026, the Israeli military installed lockable gates at the entrance to five villages: Bardala, Kardala, Ain al-Bayda, Zubaidat, and Marj Naaja. 5,000 Palestinians call these villages home. Meanwhile, in the village of Atuf, the Israeli military closed an important agro-business road using large boulders and mounds of dirt. This road runs from the city of Tubas through the Al-Bqai’a Plain, connecting the villages of Tammoun, Khirbet Ras al-Akhmar, and Atuf with their crop and sheep grazing lands further southwest. The road ends at 578 Allon road, one of the main roads through the Jordan Valley. The same day, they began constructing the military road that will accompany the proposed new apartheid wall.
The Israeli government has already given 70 demolition orders for Palestinian structures, including greenhouses, factories, and homes, along the route. The apartheid wall and military road aim to connect a string of illegal settler outposts, simultaneously displacing Palestinian residents and effectively annexing the West Bank.
Officially launched in August 2025, “Crimson Thread” is an Israeli project aimed at constructing a 500 kilometer wall through the north Jordan Valley, under the guise of “security.” In May of 2025, Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed the wall along the, “Israel-Jordan border is a critical strategic step against Iran’s attempts to turn the eastern border into another terror front.” Further exploiting US-Israel’s current assault on Iran, Israeli settler violence in the Jordan Valley along the proposed route has increased dramatically, driving Palestinians off their rightfully owned land.
The apartheid wall, which will run between Tayasir and Humra checkpoints, effectively cut the Jordan Valley off from the rest of the West Bank. Palestinians who legally own their land would lose 50,000 dunams of land should construction of the wall continue.
On March 8 2026, 15 Palestinian families in Khirbet Yarza were forced to dismantle their homes and evacuate following violent attacks and harassment from illegal Israeli settlers. Two more families remain in the area. The following day, March 9, the Israeli military began construction of the new apartheid wall in the Tammoun Valley, destroying water lines and forbidding Palestinian residents from accessing their farmlands.
Following the Oslo Accords in 1993 and 1995, 80% of Palestinian lands in the Jordan Valley were deemed Area C, placing them under Israeli military law. In 2024, the International Court of Justice determined Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law. Without international pressure to uphold the ICJ’s ruling, however, Israel’s violent ethnic cleansing and annexation of Palestinians in the Jordan Valley continues.
Photo credit: Jordan Valley Solidarity