2. Seam Zones Seam zones are sections of Palestinian land within the oPt that are located between the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line) and the illegal Annexation Wall81. In 2003, the Military Commander proclaimed the “Seam Zone” a closed military zone that may be entered by permit only. As a result, Palestinian access to these isolated areas is severely restricted and subjected to an Israeli-controlled permit regime. Approximately 50,000 Palestinians live in 57 communities within these so-called seam zones and are defined internationally as Internally Stuck Persons.82 In a unique set up, seam zones communities are both denied services from Israel municipalities and prevented from being accessed by the Palestinian Authority’s municipal services.83 3. Bypass Roads The bypass road system is designed to connect Israeli colonies with each other and cities inside Israel, without requiring passage through Palestinian inhabited areas. The stated purpose of these roads is to connect people and places, but the majority is only accessible to Jewish Israelis. Further, most by-pass roads in the West Bank create a barrier that strangles Palestinian urban and social development and has led to both isolation and fragmentation of Palestinian communities. The actual route and structure of these by pass-roads in the West Bank are evidence of a discriminatory policy, which deepens Israeli spatial domination of the West Bank and its inhabitants. In Deir Istiya for example, the land was confiscated for the construction of by-pass roads and the installation of sewage pipelines and electricity generators for the sole benefits of illegal Israeli colonies.84 This is in 81 For more information, see: BADIL Resource Center, Seam Zones, Available at: https://www.badil.org/phocadownloadpap/Badil_docs/bulletins-and-briefs/ Bulletin-25.pdf 82 OCHA oPt, Three Years Later: The Humanitarian Impact of the Barrier Since the International Court of Justice Opinion, 9 July 2007, 1, Available at: https://www.ochaopt.org/content/ three-years-later-humanitarian-impact-barrier-international-court-justice-opinion 83 Lena Odgaard, “Israeli Wall Creates Limbo for Seam Zone Palestinians”, Al Monitor, 2 July 2013, Available at: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2013/07/westbank-seam-zone-israel-wall.html 84 BADIL, Land Confiscation and Denial of Use, 61. 20