JERUSALEM June 30 (JMCC) - Israeli authorities have closed off hundreds of dunams of land north of the town of Isawiya in occupied Jerusalem for the establishment of a national park.

Bulldozers protected by police a border guards entered the area on Tuesday and closed off the main entranceway to the land with sand and rock barriers. The vast area covers some 650 dunams, said residents.

Palestinians charge Israel with zoning a disproportionate number of green areas in the eastern half of Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967, thereby restricting Palestinian building in those areas.