Israel Closes off Hwy to Palestinians

ROAD APARTHEID:

High Court closes off use of major highway to Palestinians
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966013.html

The interim decision issued 10 days ago by the High Court of Justice
on the use of Route 443 marks the first time the justices have issued
a ruling to close a road traversing occupied territory to Palestinian
use, for the convenience of Israeli travelers.

The interim ruling on a petition by six Palestinian villages adjacent
to the highway, which links the coastal plain to Jerusalem, gave the
state six months to report progress on the construction of an
alternative road for Palestinian use.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which submitted the
petition on behalf of Palestinians who have been injured by the travel
ban, noted that had the justices sincerely sought to consider opening
the road to all, without regard to race or nationality, they would not
have requested details on the building of an alternate route, which
entails the destruction of additional land and costs tens of millions
of shekels.

The decision was issued after both parties argued their positions.
According to ACRI, the ruling marks a High Court precedent in
upholding a policy of separation and discrimination with regard to
movement that has already earned the name "road apartheid." It
violates international law, ACRI holds, permitting the expropriation
of land from the local population for the protection of the occupying
power.

About 10 kilometers of Route 443 was paved on private Palestinian land
in the early 1980s, on the grounds it was needed for the West Bank
Palestinian population (and not for "security purposes"). A large part
of the expropriated land had been earmarked for a housing development
for local teachers. In response to a petition from a Palestinian whose
land was expropriated for the road, the High Court ruled that the
military government cannot plan and build a road system in an area
held by its soldiers if the purpose is solely for the creation of a
"service road" for the state. As a result, the state promised that the
road was to be open to all.

Shortly after the start of the second intifada, after attacks on
Israeli vehicles, the army closed the road to Palestinians. MK Ephraim
Sneh, deputy defense minister at the time, admitted in an interview
that the closure was not approved by the political leadership. The
closure cut off the villages on either side of the road from their
main city, Ramallah, and the rest of the West Bank. In court, the
Civil Administration offered to issue travel permits for 80 vehicles,
for a population of about 30,000 villagers. The villagers refused to
cooperate with Israeli authorities and continued their legal battle
for right to use the road on their lands. ACRI claimed in court that
the Israel Defense Forces had recently begun frequent raids on the six
villages that included the use of illumination bombs, pressure
grenades, rubber-tipped bullets and live rounds. The IDF Spokesman's
Office said at the time that these were routine operations in response
to the throwing or rocks on vehicles traveling on Route 443.

ACRI officials say they fear the High Court stamp of approval for the
illegal and immoral policy regarding Route 443 could be cited as a
precedent for additional human rights violations. The petitioners
protest what they call a lack of judicial process, noting that even
though the decision was on an important principle, it was issued
without any accompany explanation and with absolutely no reference to
the points raised by the petitioners. In addition, they note, the
alternative road will not provide for the needs of hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians in areas bordering Route 443.

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