Israel has effectively annexed the Jordan Valley -- about a third of the occupied West Bank -- by barring almost all Palestinians from entering the region, a respected Israeli human rights group said on Monday.
The group, B'Tselem, points to a system of permits and checkpoints that has expanded over recent months to keep most Palestinians out of the valley.
It says this and other measures that are forcing residents to leave the area appear to be a step towards seizing the land for Israel.
"Israel's permit regime in the valley, together with statements of senior officials, give the impression that the motive underlying Israel's policy is not based on military-security needs, but is political: the de facto annexation of the Jordan Valley," B'Tselem said.
"This annexation, similar to the de facto annexation of broad tracts of land west of the [West Bank] separation barrier, constitutes a flagrant breach of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination," the group said.
Last week, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel intended to keep control of the valley -- even after it pulls out of other parts of the West Bank and draws new borders -- as a defensive move.
"It is impossible to abandon control of the eastern border of Israel," he said.
The sparsely populated valley -- home to about 53,000 Palestinians and 6,000 Israelis in 21 Jewish settlements -- is among the most fertile land in the occupied territories and an important source of produce. It also used to be a main transport route linking various parts of the West Bank.
But last year the army, unannounced, started restricting Palestinian access. Only those whose identity documents show the are permitted to remain. Several thousand workers in the settlements or in essential areas, such as teaching and healthcare, are given permits to visit during the day.
"The closing of the Jordan Valley has caused many Palestinians who live in villages bordering the valley and work in agriculture there to lose their source of livelihood," B'Tselem said.
In recent weeks, the army has also restricted the movement of Palestinian produce out of the valley -- but not from the settlements -- forcing some farmers into debt and threatening their ability to maintain their own livelihoods.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied territories sees the result as a valley "increasingly out of bounds for Palestinians living in other parts of the West Bank."
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