in public fund allocations and economic activity that feeds and nurtures the cycle of unequal treatment and discriminatory development to highly favor Israeli-Jewish populations and severely marginalize Palestinian communities. Confinement of the city borders through the manipulation of the road network Another commonly deployed Israeli mechanism is the seemingly innocuous arrangement of the road network, which it uses to constrict Umm al-Fahm’s growth, to limit its connection to its surrounding villages and to promote expansion in Israeli-Jewish areas. In line with the above, the setting of a city’s and residential community’s borders are steered by Israeli-Jewish committees,347 once again according to Israeli-Jewish priorities, and with “a clear lack of understanding of the nature of Palestinian communities.”348 Any street or road construction requires prior approval by Israel because it would be undertaken in areas classified as state land – 93 percent of the lands in 1948 Palestine.349 • Old local roads are left intentionally unmaintained and largely unpaved as a result of Israeli planning which deliberately confines Palestinian communities, keeping people separate from each other and discouraging their ongoing connection.350 From Umm al-Fahm, many villages remain inaccessible through main roads.351 For instance, the Palestinian villages of ‘Ar’ara and ‘Ara are located southward and separated from Umm al-Fahm by the Mei Ami colony and Road 6535 that connects it to Highway 65. To access Ar’ara and ‘Ara from Umm al-Fahm, Palestinians are obliged to use the colonizer Road 6535, or, as an alternative, other unpaved and dangerous roads.352 The reliance on colonies’ roads render Palestinian transportation fully dependent on the Israeli-Jewish road system. […] there is no paved road between ‘Ara and Ar’ara and Umm al-Fahm even though ‘Ara is considered a rural area on the outskirts of Umm al- 347 Traffic and Transportation Engineer, supra 319. 348 Ibid. 349 Israel Land Authority, “About Israel Land Authority,” webpage, available at: https://land.gov.il/en/ Pages/AboutUs.aspx [accessed 28 February 2020]. 350 Traffic and Transportation Engineer, supra 319. Jabbarin, supra 281. 351 License Inspector, supra 337. 352 License Inspector, supra 337. 86