Protesters Demand Opening of E. Gush Etzion-Jerusalem Road

Activists from Gush Etzion, Kiryat Arba, Hevron, Kiryat Bialik (near Haifa), Maaleh Adumim, Beit Shemesh and Kibbutz Shuval took part in the protest. Earlier, the participants paid a solidarity visit to the threatened hilltop community Maaleh Rechavam.





Opening the road from eastern Gush Etzion to Jerusalem would shorten the trip to the capital to about ten minutes for residents of towns like Tekoa and Nokdim. They now travel upwards of 40 minutes, much of it in the wrong direction, to reach Jerusalem. In addition, traffic caused by the construction of the Partition Wall often adds as much as another hour to the trip. Residents fear that the government is seeking to induce them to leave their homes, located “outside” the borders being drawn by the so-called security fence.



The Zaatra Bypass road, as the direct route is called, runs south from Jerusalem’s Har Homa neighborhood along the eastern outskirts of Bethlehem. It was recently completed and is used by the local Arab population. A wall of barbed wire runs down the middle at one point, however, preventing the Jews of eastern Gush Etzion from using it, despite government commitments following past demonstrations.



Friday, a convoy of about 40 vehicles headed from eastern Gush Etzion toward the capital along the road. Security forces stopped the convoy about a half-mile before Har Homa, at which point the protesters continued on foot.



Holding signs with slogans such as “The Land of Israel belongs to the Nation of Israel” and “No to the Apartheid road – closed only to Jews,” the protesters approached the barbed wire blocking their way to Jerusalem.



Nokdim Rabbi Yaron Durani and veteran local tour guide Aryeh Klein addressed the participants, offering a historical background of generations of the Jewish people’s connection to the region in general and eastern Gush Etzion in particular. They decried government efforts to destroy communities like Maaleh Rechavam and dry out larger towns like Tekoa and Nokdim by making building and expansion nearly impossible for the residents.



MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union-NRP) joined the demonstration as well. “It is Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Chief of Police Moshe Karadi who are preventing the opening of this road,” he said. “And they are doing so for political reasons alone - despite the fact that they are aware of the security risks and dangers created along the Tunnels Road due to the long traffic jams.”



Gush Etzion residents are joined by residents of Beit Shemesh and Tzur Hadassah at the main Highway 60 Tunnels Road to Jerusalem each day, causing traffic back-ups of up to an hour since the construction of the Partition Wall in the region began. They worry that the heavy traffic leaves them vulnerable to terror attacks.



“If, G-d forbid, people are hurt in a terror attack at the Tunnels Road because of the traffic jams while an alternative road lies completely ready – but is not being opened for political reasons - the blood of the victims will be upon the head of Amir Peretz and the Police Chief, who are preventing the opening of this road," Eldad said.