The Israel Defense Forces is preparing to open Route 443 to Palestinian traffic, in keeping with last month's High Court of Justice ruling, and has put together a plan.
The High Court ruled that barring Palestinians from using the highway, which links the coast with north and East Jerusalem, was disproportionate to security needs, and ordered the IDF to find suitable alternative security arrangements within five months.
The plan is being formulated under the leadership of the head of the Central Command's general staff, Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz. From details Haaretz has obtained, it appears that a roadblock will be placed at the Ofer army camp junction, about five kilometers west of the current roadblock at Atarot, which it will replace. The army is also considering doing away with the Ramot roadblock between the northwest Jerusalem suburb of Ramot and Givat Ze'ev.
Moving the roadblock west to the Ofer army camp will mean Givat Ze'ev residents will have to pass through it on their way home from the coast.
In their appeal to the High Court, the Palestinians asked that the Bitunia roadblock at the Ofer junction be opened to traffic from Route 443 heading toward to Ramallah. The IDF said opposed the idea, saying soldiers standing at the post would be endangered; the High Court accepted the army's argument. Therefore Palestinian vehicles will be able to use Route 443 only to drive between villages along it, not to reach Ramallah.
The Army Spokesman's Office released the following statement: "The IDF is preparing to implement the High Court's ruling and is now making an extensive study of the actions required for the matter."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1144433.htmlSo much for the argument I've seen bandied around in this forum that Israeli-only roads in the West Bank are needed for security reasons...
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