A major Highway closed to Palestinians by the High Court of Justice

Ten days ago, the Israeli High Court of Justice issued a temporary decision to close route 443 to Palestinians, now the road is for Israeli use only. Six Palestinian villages, adjacent to the road, presented a petition to the High Court. The court decision was issued after receiving the petition. The state of Israel has given six months to start the construction of an alternative road for Palestinians. On March 4, the Association for the Civil rights in Israeli (ACRI) urged the Supreme Court to take actions to repel Israel, enforcing complete restriction on Palestinian movement along Route 443 in the West Bank. ACRI submitted the petition on behalf of six Palestinian villages, saying that "Palestinian residents of the West Bank have been prohibited from driving on Route 443, a main thoroughfare for some 160,000 residents, since the end of 2000. The restriction violates basic human rights including the right to freedom of movement and the right to livelihood. In addition, this sweeping restriction constitutes blatant and systematic discrimination on the basis of national origin". Parts of the road were built on land expropriated by an Israeli Military Commander in the 1980s. In response to a petition submitted at the time by local residents against the expropriation, the Supreme Court accepted the State's claim that the road was intended primarily for the benefit of the local Palestinian population – the same population today, is still prohibited from using the road. The petition was filed by ACRI and 18 local residents,submitted by ACRI Attorney, Limor Yehuda on March 7, 2007.