Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
License needed for work use Register

Search

 

Cablegate: Idf Opens Key West Bank Road to Palestinians

VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #0135/01 0211636
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211636Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7358
INFO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0002
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 8253
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 5015
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 5136
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 8769
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000135

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

NEA FOR IPA, PPD, AND SEMEP; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA;
PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE/MEA:SBORODIN; NSC FOR KUMAR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD EAID PGOV KWBG IS
SUBJECT: IDF OPENS KEY WEST BANK ROAD TO PALESTINIANS

1. (SBU) Summary: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) opened an
important West Bank road southwest of Hebron to Palestinian
vehicle traffic on January 15, in compliance with an October
2009 Israeli Supreme Court ruling. The IDF's response to the
ruling could have implications for the easing of other
Israeli restrictions in the West Bank where the number of
affected Palestinians arguably outweighs the justification
for restricting movement and access. End Summary.

Closure Affected Thousands of Palestinians
------------------------------------------

2. (SBU) The IDF on January 15 reopened to Palestinian
traffic 4.5 kilometers of Route 354 in southwest Hebron
between Negohot settlement (population 180) and the illegal
outpost of Mitzpe Lachish (population four families) that had
been in place since 2001. The closure affected 22
Palestinian villages (about 25,000-30,000 people) that used
the route as the main access road to and from Hebron, their
socio-economic hub. As a result of the closure, residents
were forced to use alternative dirt roads that extended
travel time by over an hour and were often impassable during
the winter rainy season.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Ruling Based on Proportionality
-------------------------------

3. (SBU) The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)
first submitted a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court in
2006 to open Route 354. After a two-year legal battle, the
Supreme Court ruled in favor of ACRI in October 2009, calling
on the IDF to find alternative means of security for the
Israeli settlers and to open the road within three months.
According to ACRI, this was the first Supreme Court decision
to open a segregated Palestinian road, effectively overriding
an Israeli military order to keep the route closed for
security reasons.

4. (SBU) In its October 2009 ruling, the Israeli Supreme
Court did not support ACRI's position that a segregated road
system is "discriminatory" and therefore illegal, but rather
adopted the argument of proportionality. Supreme Court
President Dorti Beinish stated, "closure of the road was
disproportionate, given (that it was) meant to protect 150
(sic) Jews who reside in the area, but affects thousands of
Palestinians." An ACRI contact said that while the ruling
"improves the lives of tens of thousands of local
Palestinians, it is problematic because of what it did not
address: the lack of a categorical interdiction on the system
of segregation and discrimination that is becoming more
entrenched in the West Bank."

All Eyes on 443
---------------

5. (SBU) Similarly, the Israeli Supreme Court on December 30
ruled in favor of allowing Palestinians to use Route 443, an
Israeli-only, four-lane highway between Jerusalem and Tel
Aviv that is used by an estimated 40,000 cars daily. The
road, currently closed to Palestinian vehicles, runs through
the West Bank, from which it cuts off six major Palestinian
villages (about 130,000 people). The Court decided that
while the IDF should take necessary security measures to
protect Israeli citizens traveling on Route 443, the military
should not prevent Palestinians from using the road. The
Court has notified IDF Central Command that it has five
months (until late May 2010) to implement the court's order.
According to the press, the IDF Spokesperson responded that
the Central Command has "begun examining the repercussions in
order to implement the ruling."

6. (SBU) Following the Court's decision to open Route 443,
press reported that Israeli activists now have petitioned the
IDF to open West Bank roads restricted from use by Israeli
vehicles (specifically routes connecting settlements around
Nablus and Hebron), and threatened to go to the Supreme Court
if the request was not granted.

Comment
-------

7. (SBU) Israeli NGOs and Palestinian contacts note that the
Israeli justice system has not ruled against the concept of
segregated roads. However, the rulings on Routes 354 and 443
could set a precedent where current movement restrictions on
Palestinians potentially outweigh the justification for
closures )- such as a section of road near Jerusalem that
affects more than a million Palestinians, on behalf of 5
Jewish families, as well as Routes 466 (in Ramallah) and 90
(in the Jordan Valley). The IDF's decision in late September
to open Route 585 between Jenin and Tulkarem (without a court
ruling) was likely carried out at least in part due to
arguments that the 400,000 Palestinians affected by the
closure overrode the security concerns of 500 settlers.

RUBINSTEIN

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
World Headlines

 
UN News: Aid Access Is Key Priority

Among the key issues facing diplomats is securing the release of a reported 199 Israeli hostages, seized during the Hamas raid. “History is watching,” says Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths. “This war was started by taking those hostages. Of course, there's a history between Palestinian people and the Israeli people, and I'm not denying any of that. But that act alone lit a fire, which can only be put out with the release of those hostages.” More


Save The Children: Four Earthquakes In a Week Leave Thousands Homeless

Families in western Afghanistan are reeling after a fourth earthquake hit Herat Province, crumbling buildings and forcing people to flee once again, with thousands now living in tents exposed to fierce winds and dust storms. The latest 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 30 km outside of Herat on Sunday, shattering communities still reeling from strong and shallow aftershocks. More

UN News: Nowhere To Go In Gaza

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said some 1.1M people would be expected to leave northern Gaza and that such a movement would be “impossible” without devastating humanitarian consequences and appeals for the order to be rescinded. The WHO joined the call for Israel to rescind the relocation order, which amounted to a “death sentence” for many. More


Access Now: Telecom Blackout In Gaza An Attack On Human Rights

By October 10, reports indicated that fixed-line internet, mobile data, SMS, telephone, and TV networks are all seriously compromised. With significant and increasing damage to the electrical grid, orders by the Israeli Ministry of Energy to stop supplying electricity and the last remaining power station now out of fuel, many are no longer able to charge devices that are essential to communicate and access information. More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.