Israeli forces have dug a trench across the final vehicle track leading to Khirbet Ras al-Ahmar, a small herding village southeast of Tubas in the northern Jordan Valley. The closure, now in its fifth day according to residents speaking to Anadolu, has left 47 families with no practical way to bring in food, water or livestock feed.
The road was rough even before the trench — used mainly by tractors and livestock — but it was the last link after more than two months of closures on other dirt routes into the community. Residents describe years of steadily tightening restrictions: trenches, earth mounds and military-controlled zones now effectively enclose the village. People can still walk out in places, but that does little for anyone needing to move heavy supplies or run a herd.
The economic squeeze is stark. Residents say the community once used around 360,000 dunams of grazing land, and that roughly 90% has been seized or placed off-limits — a figure not independently verified, though rights groups have long documented shrinking access to grazing areas in the valley. With less land to graze, herders depend more on bought feed, which they now cannot transport.
The closure is tied to construction of an Israeli military barrier project known as the "Crimson Thread," running along parts of the eastern edge of the West Bank. Its first major section stretches roughly 20 to 22 kilometres through the northern Jordan Valley and includes a patrol road, trenches and embankments. The Times of Israel reported in July that trenches had cut through Palestinian farmland near Ras al-Ahmar and damaged water pipelines; Palestinian news agency WAFA reported in August that three artesian wells had been filled in, about 300 metres of water pipeline damaged and three livestock shelters demolished.
The village sits in Area C, where Israel holds civil and security control under the Oslo Accords, and has faced repeated demolition orders and temporary evacuations linked to military activity. Israeli authorities reject any suggestion of forced displacement, saying restrictions relate to security and land-use rules. B'Tselem and other monitoring groups, however, have documented growing displacement of herding communities in the Jordan Valley and southern West Bank since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
Why this matters to travellers: the Jordan Valley was historically one of the most appealing corners of the West Bank for visitors — agricultural land, desert scenery and herding villages that welcomed guests. That kind of community tourism is effectively impossible here now, and the story is a reminder of how sharply conditions in the West Bank have deteriorated. Most foreign governments advise against travel to the West Bank outside organized visits to places like Bethlehem and Jericho, and areas such as the northern Jordan Valley carry particular risk. Anyone planning travel to Israel or the Palestinian territories should check their foreign ministry's current guidance closely, as access rules and safety conditions on the ground are changing quickly.