Ending Segregation on the West Bank’s Roads

January 6, 2010

Ibrahim Samara's business repairing window blinds was dealt a devastating blow in 2002 when the Israeli army decided to prohibit West Bank Palestinians from using Route 443 between Jerusalem and the growing city of Modiin.  The 42 year-old resident of the village Beit Ur Al Fauqa, which is adjacent to the highway he cannot use, is one of 55,000 Palestinians living in villages near the highway whose lives have been blighted by the ban. 

In a stunning victory for civil rights in Israel, the High Court has ordered that these concrete blocks on the access road between Route 443 and the Palestinian village of Beit Ur Al Fauqa, and similar obstacles at other villages, be removed to permit access to the highway.

But relief is in sight for Samara.  Following a petition by flagship NIF grantee Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem last week ordered the Israeli army to lift the ban within five months and come up with a plan to permit access to the highway.  The ruling applies to the 14 kilometer stretch of the highway west of Jerusalem, which is in the West Bank, most of which is on land expropriated from Palestinian farmers. 

Since large concrete blocks were put in place to block the access road to Route 443 from his village, Samara has been forced to travel on alternative mountain routes, which make the journey frustratingly longer.  He said, "Instead of the 10 minutes it would take me to reach Atarot near Jerusalem, it takes 45 minutes if there is no traffic, and several hours in the morning and late afternoon."

According to former NIF grantee B'Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, over 100 stores, businesses and restaurants in the Palestinian villages straddling Route 443 have closed down since access to the highway was blocked.

Route 443 is only one of many major highways in the West Bank which are completely or partially restricted from use by Palestinians, and which have been the target of a major campaign by the NIF family.  The latest ruling on 443 follows a precedent-setting decision handed down by the High Court in November, also following a petition by ACRI, which overturned a military order preventing Palestinians from driving on a highway in the South Hebron Hills serving 22 West Bank villages and 200 Israeli settlers in illegal outposts.  According to B'Tselem, there are still 59 kilometers of roads in the West Bank that are off limits to Palestinians. 

Last week's High Court ruling was an important breakthrough, but the decision is opposed by the Israeli government and many Israelis who fear the return of Palestinian vehicles to the highway.  Before the Israeli Defense Force is required to remove the concrete blocks barring access to Route 433 in May, the NIF family expects opponents to appeal the decision.

Nirit Moskovitch of ACRI said, "There are less intrusive ways of ensuring everyone's safety.  It is inconceivable that tens of thousands of people, for whom this is practically the only way of transportation, won't be able to use it."

Samara is confident that he will soon again be able to drive on Route 443.  He said, "If somebody wants to cause security problems there is nothing to stop him approaching the highway on foot. In other parts of the West Bank, Israelis and Palestinians use roads together and there are no problems.  We can use Route 443 together in peace because at the end of the day it is in all our interests to keep the road open."