Gazelles are the latest victims of Israeli illegal activity near the separation barrier
Unregulated construction and waste dumping threatens to destroy an important wildlife corridor between Israel and the West Bank
An illegal farm in Gazelle Valley this week. The area supports a rich diversity of birds, mammals and wild plant life. Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
Unregulated construction and waste dumping threatens to destroy an important wildlife corridor between Israel and the West Bank
04:52 PM • January 08 2026 IST
Residents of the Modi'in area, together with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, have been fighting in recent years against a plan to pave an access road to the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Modi'in Ilit through an ecologically sensitive area known as Gazelle Valley. While the road plan is still under discussion in planning committees, another, less visible process is unfolding on the ground: illegal construction of farms, fences, and roads that is gradually consuming the landscape and degrading the area.
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