Slaimiyeh at Ras al-Ahmar–Atuf warned that threats to 42,000 dunums and the isolation of over 180,000 dunums in the Jordan Valley endanger Palestinian agricultural land and require urgent protection measures.

• Plain of Attouf faces settlement plans that threaten thousands of dunams of fertile agricultural land.
• A settlement road and a security zone threaten 42 thousand dunums and isolate more than 180 thousand dunums of agricultural and pastoral land.
• Slaimiyeh stresses the continued support of farmers’ steadfastness and the protection of Palestinian land.

Northern Jordan Valley: 6/15/2026

The Minister of Agriculture, Professor Riziq Slaimiyeh, confirmed that what the Palestinian lands in the northern Jordan Valley are being exposed to represent a direct targeting of the Palestinian person and his right to remain on his land, stressing that protecting the Palestinian land and farmer is a national responsibility that requires a comprehensive and urgent program that strengthens the steadfastness of citizens in areas threatened by settlement.
This came during a field tour in Tubas Governorate and the Northern Jordan Valley, during which he met with the Governor of Tubas and the Northern Jordan Valley, Ahmed Al-Asaad, the Mayor of Tubas, Mahmoud Daraghmeh, and the heads of local authorities and village councils, most notably the Atouf Village Council, where he listened to the farmers and learned about their most prominent needs and challenges facing them. The Minister was accompanied on the tour by Assistant Undersecretaries Ahmed Zakarneh and Hossam Tlaib, the Coordinator of Governorate Affairs, Engineer Samir Samara, the Directors of Tubas Agriculture, Dr. Ahmed Al-Fares, and Jenin, Engineer Omar Bsharat, the Director General of Farmer Services, Engineer Iman Jarrar, and the Director of the European Program in the Ministry of Agriculture, Engineer Asmahan Grouf, along with a number of general directors and ministry cadres.
During his tour in the Ras al-Ahmar-Atouf area, Salimiya was briefed on the dangers threatening the Atof Plain, explaining that the occupation plans aimed at constructing a new settlement road and establishing a security zone would threaten about 42 thousand dunums of fertile land and isolate approximately 180 thousand dunums of agricultural and pastoral land, which limits farmers’ access to their lands and undermines opportunities for cultivation and investment.
The Minister indicated that the Ministry of Agriculture continues to work with partners and national and international institutions to support farmers and strengthen their steadfastness, stressing that protecting and preserving Palestinian land is a national priority in the face of settlement policies, and that the steadfastness of farmers in the Jordan Valley constitutes the first line of defense for the Palestinian land and identity.