Fahm—it is forbidden to have a road between ‘Ara and Umm al-Fahm. […] For instance, there are only two buses that pass near ‘Ara by stopping on Route 65—one bus comes from Ra’anana to Kiryat Shmona settlement in the north and another bus to Tel Aviv. Loai al-Khatib, member of Abnaa al-Balad Interview: Umm al-Fahm, 7 November 2019 • The outright lack of road connections to adjacent Palestinian localities in the West Bank leads to the difficult situation illustrated by the village of Umm al-Rihan located right on the West Bank side of the Green Line: “there is literally only one street between them and no barrier, yet residents of Umm al-Fahm are not allowed to enter Umm al-Rihan and vice-versa.”353 • There is one road in and out of Umm al-Fahm despite repeated requests from the municipality to place another entrance on the eastern side of the town. There is only one highway exit that connects Road 65 to the city of Umm al-Fahm, creating a major congestion point. Additionally, the planning committee has constantly rejected all initiatives to connect Umm al-Fahm to other Palestinian cities through either constructing a road that connects Umm al-Fahm to Road 66 (Haifa-Jenin) or establishing an east-south gate with the West Bank.354 • Roads are used to constrict Umm al-Fahm, particularly Road 6535 built to the immediate south of Umm al-Fahm. This road is built to facilitate Israeli-Jewish access to the colony of Mei Ami and disguises the fact that it also restricts any further growth of Umm al-Fahm in the southern direction. The result is a higher population density in the Palestinian localities in this area.355 The encirclement of Umm al-Fahm by a system of colony roads and improperly maintained roads designed for Palestinian use has an indirect but significant effect on Palestinians’ access to their lands. Private property is also distributed along family lines, and “[Palestinian] areas are [often] privately owned by a few families, which means that only owners can build on these lands.”356 The rigid confinement of Umm al-Fahm’s borders not only concentrates residents in the city center, but limits building possibilities for families owning lands in 353 Ibid. 354 Engineer, supra 321. 355 Fahmawi Youth Movement, supra 301. 356 Traffic and Transportation Engineer, supra 319. 87