New roads approved to separate Israeli and Palestinian traffic in the West Bank

The security cabinet approved overnight a plan to construct roads that will redirect and separate Israeli and Palestinian traffic in the West Bank, in a move that critics say will further isolate Palestinians in the area.

Hailing the move, the Prime Minister’s Office says that it will reduce congestion and enable continued Israeli development in the E1 area of the West Bank between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement.

“We continue to strengthen the security of Israel’s citizens and to develop our settlements,” says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the so-called “Fabric of Life” road. He says it “will benefit all residents of the region by easing and improving traffic flow, enhancing both security and the sense of safety for residents, and providing a strategic transportation corridor connecting Jerusalem, Ma’ale Adumim and the Jordan Valley.”

The roads will link Jerusalem with Ma’ale Adumim while providing an alternative route for Palestinian traffic to bypass Israeli checkpoints, creating two separate lanes for vehicles from the Israeli and Palestinian security envelopes, which currently use a single lane.

The new route, however, will directly connect the villages of az-Za’ayyem and al-Eizariya, diverting Palestinian traffic away from Route 1 and the Ma’ale Adumim area.

Another bypass road called “Route 80” will run east of Ma’ale Adumim, connecting al-Eizariya to the Good Samaritan Interchange, creating a direct route between Bethlehem and Jericho in a move that Israel says will further ease traffic levels.

As well as reducing congestion, the Prime Minister’s Office says that plans will bolster Israel’s security amid increased security concerns over terrorist attacks along the current route.

Just over a year ago, three Palestinian terrorists carried out a shooting attack near the az-Za’ayyem checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, in which an Israeli man was killed and 11 others were wounded, including a pregnant woman.

While championed by Israel as a way to reduce congestion and tighten security, the plan, which has awaited approval for years, will divert Palestinian drivers from the controversial E1 area, where Israel is moving forward with settlement construction in steps toward annexing Ma’ale Adumim. The area is viewed by Palestinians as strategically significant for maintaining territorial continuity for a future Palestinian state.

Anti-settlements watchdog Peace Now denounces the plan, which it warns will be a “fatal blow” to Palestinian communities in the Ma’ale Adumim area.

“These communities will be cut off from the rest of the West Bank, and will have virtually no access by car,” it warns. “This could mean the de facto expulsion of all Palestinian communities from the area.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz, who led the initiative, hails the “historic decision” which he says will “reinforce the settlements, boost security, enhance the welfare of all residents in the area, and strengthen our hold on Judea and Samaria.”