The military authority charged with building the security barrier roughly along the state’s pre-1967 boundaries, Keshet Tsvaim, has already drafted a proposal to restrict Jewish traffic on the highway. If implemented, the proposal would force Jews to travel dozens of miles out of the way in order to reach their homes or get to work.
The main road running north-south down the central spine of Judea and Samaria is Route 60, a highway which to a large extent follows a route used since Biblical times.
The road, connects many major Biblical and historical sites, from Be'er Sheva in the Negev, northward through Hevron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Beit El, Shiloh, Schechem, Jenin, Afula, and Nazereth in the Galilee.
Ironically, much of the road was repaved and re-routed following the Oslo Accords at the cost of millions of shekels to the Israeli taxpayer, in order to bypass Arab-populated cities. The new route was designed to facilitate safe, swift, and secure civilian vehicular traffic for Arab and Jewish residents alike.
Now if Keshet Tzvaim has its way, Jewish residents living in communities located along Route 60 will not be able to use the road, or parts of it, to reach their destinations. In addition, residents of neighboring communities would be essentially cut off from each other.
Residents of Elon Moreh, Har Brachah, Shiloh, and Eli, for example, who wished to drive southward to Jerusalem, would be forced to take a detour eastward to the Alon Road. That road is a narrow circuitous route on the edge of the desert, strewn with innumerable safety and security hazards.
After driving a few dozen miles south on the Alon Road, drivers would have to travel westward again, returning to Route 60 just north of the town of Kokhav Yaakov. From there they would continue south along the bypass route to Jerusalem.
The added time and cost of making such an extended journey will likely add to the economic hardships endured by the residents of these communities, especially those who work or study in Jerusalem.
The weekly newspaper Makor Rishon reported that Keshet Tzvaim is attempting to improve Israel’s humanitarian image in the United States by allowing Arabs to travel freely on Route 60 without encountering Jewish vehicles or army roadblocks set up to enhance security on the road and prevent terrorists from infiltrating into the pre-1967 borders. Roadblocks on Route 60 have become a source of diplomatic tension between Israel and the United States.
Keshet Tzvaim, which operates out of the IDF Central Command in Jerusalem, was established under the Rabin government as an IDF unit directed with coordinating the implementation of the Oslo Accords, which required the IDF to withdraw to new positions outside Arab-populated cities in Judea and Samaria. The authority’s name translates into English as “colors of the rainbow,” originally a code word denoting the Israeli withdrawal and redeployment.
The main road running north-south down the central spine of Judea and Samaria is Route 60, a highway which to a large extent follows a route used since Biblical times.
The road, connects many major Biblical and historical sites, from Be'er Sheva in the Negev, northward through Hevron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Beit El, Shiloh, Schechem, Jenin, Afula, and Nazereth in the Galilee.
Ironically, much of the road was repaved and re-routed following the Oslo Accords at the cost of millions of shekels to the Israeli taxpayer, in order to bypass Arab-populated cities. The new route was designed to facilitate safe, swift, and secure civilian vehicular traffic for Arab and Jewish residents alike.
Now if Keshet Tzvaim has its way, Jewish residents living in communities located along Route 60 will not be able to use the road, or parts of it, to reach their destinations. In addition, residents of neighboring communities would be essentially cut off from each other.
Residents of Elon Moreh, Har Brachah, Shiloh, and Eli, for example, who wished to drive southward to Jerusalem, would be forced to take a detour eastward to the Alon Road. That road is a narrow circuitous route on the edge of the desert, strewn with innumerable safety and security hazards.
After driving a few dozen miles south on the Alon Road, drivers would have to travel westward again, returning to Route 60 just north of the town of Kokhav Yaakov. From there they would continue south along the bypass route to Jerusalem.
The added time and cost of making such an extended journey will likely add to the economic hardships endured by the residents of these communities, especially those who work or study in Jerusalem.
The weekly newspaper Makor Rishon reported that Keshet Tzvaim is attempting to improve Israel’s humanitarian image in the United States by allowing Arabs to travel freely on Route 60 without encountering Jewish vehicles or army roadblocks set up to enhance security on the road and prevent terrorists from infiltrating into the pre-1967 borders. Roadblocks on Route 60 have become a source of diplomatic tension between Israel and the United States.
Keshet Tzvaim, which operates out of the IDF Central Command in Jerusalem, was established under the Rabin government as an IDF unit directed with coordinating the implementation of the Oslo Accords, which required the IDF to withdraw to new positions outside Arab-populated cities in Judea and Samaria. The authority’s name translates into English as “colors of the rainbow,” originally a code word denoting the Israeli withdrawal and redeployment.