JERUSALEM:In the coming years, Israelis will be able to commute into Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from settlements deep inside the West Bank via highways, tunnels and overpasses that cut a wide berth around Palestinian towns.
Rights groups say the new roads will set the stage for explosive settlement growth, even if the incoming U.S. administration somehow convinces Israel to curb housing construction. The costly infrastructure projects signal that Israel intends to keep large swaths of the occupied territory in any peace deal and would make it even harder to establish a viable Palestinian state.
"This is not another hundred housing units there or here," said Yehuda Shaul, an Israeli activist who has spent months researching and mapping out the new projects. “This is de facto annexation on steroids.”
Construction already is underway on a huge tunnel that Shaul says will one day allow settlers from Maale Adumim, a sprawling settlement east of Jerusalem, to drive into the city and onward to Tel Aviv without passing through a military checkpoint or even hitting a traffic light.
South of Jerusalem, work is underway to expand the main highway leading to the Gush Etzion settlement bloc and settlements farther south, with tunnels and overpasses designed to bypass Palestinian villages and refugee camps.
Palestinians will be allowed to drive on many of the new roads, but the infrastructure will be of limited use to them because they need permits to enter Israel or annexed east Jerusalem.
Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war and has since built a far-flung network of settlements that house nearly 700,000 Jewish settlers. The Palestinians want both territories for their future state and view the settlements as a violation of international law and an obstacle to peace — a position with wide international support.
Supporters of settlements view the West Bank and Jerusalem as the historical and biblical heart of Israel, seeing the settlements as a way of preventing any partition of the Holy Land.
But most Israelis live and work in the main cities. Except for an ideological minority, most Israelis would be uncomfortable living deep inside the West Bank, where two-lane roads pass through military checkpoints and Palestinian villages, and where clashes and rock-throwing can erupt at any time.
The new roads promise to change all that, transforming settlements into affordable suburban communities with safe, easy access to cities and public transportation. Shaul estimates the new infrastructure could facilitate plans for more than 50,000 settler housing units in the West Bank and another 6,000 in east Jerusalem.
“People don't bring roads, roads bring people,” he said.
Shaul, an army conscript during the Israeli military’s suppression of the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, is a co-founder of Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers who document human rights abuses in the occupied territories. In recent months, he has turned his attention to Israeli planning.
His findings are based on minutes from several meetings held in recent years by parliamentary subcommittees charged with improving West Bank infrastructure. He also cites a strategic plan presented by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, a hard-line supporter of settlements, to a group of settlement mayors last month.
In a statement after the meeting, Regev called it “an exciting day for the settlements and for the state of Israel, which builds and is building in all areas of the homeland.” She said it provided a “holistic vision” for “a future development plan for the region.”
The ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Oded Revivi, the mayor of the Efrat settlement in the West Bank who attended the meeting, said the draft plan was “very thorough," and that the ministry was open to suggestions, “taking into account the needs of both populations, both the Jews and the Arabs.”
He said U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast plan, which would allow Israel to annex about a third of the West Bank, including all its settlements, had proven that the settlements are not an obstacle to peace. That plan was immediately rejected by the Palestinians and is likely to be scrapped by President-elect Joe Biden, who opposes annexation.
Alon Cohen Lifshitz, an expert at Bimkom, an Israeli rights group that focuses on urban planning, said the main aim of the road projects is to create a “matrix of control” that ensures the free movement of Israelis while further fragmenting the areas governed by the Palestinian Authority.
“Most of the settlers are not (ideological). They are looking for options to live the dream in affordable housing,” he said. “This is the main obstacle for the expansion of settlements."
The same process unfolded on a much smaller scale more than a decade ago, when Israel opened Route 398, connecting settlements in the southern West Bank to Jerusalem. Informally known as the “Lieberman Road,” after former Transportation Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who lives in one of the settlements, it reduced the driving time from 40 minutes to 10 minutes. The area's settler population nearly doubled in the next six years, to about 6,000 people, according to Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog.
Many Palestinians view the roads as another kind of barrier erected to separate communities from one another and farmers from their land. They say much of the construction is on land expropriated from farmers, who have little hope of recourse in Israeli courts.
“This is a military occupation, so when they take a decision, they impose it by force, without any coordination with the other side, with the owners of the land," said Mohammed Sabateen, head of the local council in Husan, a Palestinian village south of Jerusalem sandwiched between a growing settlement and one of the new road projects.
“These roads are primarily designed for Israelis and settlers, not Palestinians,” he said. The military can also cut off Palestinian access at any time by closing yellow gates at the main access points.
Israel is also at work on so-called “fabric of life” roads intended to benefit the Palestinians, but Shaul says these are usually aimed at routing them away from settlements. One has been dubbed the “apartheid road” because it runs alongside a road open only to Israelis, and the two are separated by an imposing concrete wall.
Biden has vowed to work with Israel and the Palestinians to restart peace talks, without offering much detail. It's possible he will adopt a similar approach to the Obama administration, which pressed Israel to freeze or curb settlement growth as part of peace efforts that went nowhere.
But even if Biden succeeds in convincing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to temporarily curb settlement growth, the road infrastructure would ensure plenty of demand once the pause ended.
“The second the freeze is over, this infrastructure will be there to facilitate even greater growth,” said Shaul, who believes that stopping the road projects is key to preserving hope for a two-state solution. “This would be the foundation for the development of settlements for the next 20 years.”
AP Newsroom
Mon Dec 07 2020
![New roads pave way for massive growth of Israeli settlements New roads pave way for massive growth of Israeli settlements](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2020-12/51607334501_Israel.jpg)
Roadworks expand a road to Israeli settlements inside the West Bank, near the city of Bethlehem, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. - AP
![Golongan belia pemacu penting bentuk masa depan industri pembuatan Malaysia - FMM Golongan belia pemacu penting bentuk masa depan industri pembuatan Malaysia - FMM](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-05/41715247870_SohThianLaijpg.jpg)
Golongan belia pemacu penting bentuk masa depan industri pembuatan Malaysia - FMM
Pemimpin perniagaan dan usahawan daripada golongan belia merupakan pemacu penting yang akan membentuk masa depan industri pembuatan Malaysia, kata Presiden Persekutuan Pekilang-Pekilang Malaysia.
AWANI Tonight: 16 July 2024
#AWANITonight with @Hafiz_Marzukhi
1. Govt mulls amending Penal Code to deal with cyberbullying
2. England's Southgate resigns after Euro 2024 Final defeat
#AWANIEnglish #AWANINews
1. Govt mulls amending Penal Code to deal with cyberbullying
2. England's Southgate resigns after Euro 2024 Final defeat
#AWANIEnglish #AWANINews
![Empat individu termasuk pasangan pempengaruh bebas tahanan reman Empat individu termasuk pasangan pempengaruh bebas tahanan reman](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-05/41716613114_TBsprm.jpg)
Empat individu termasuk pasangan pempengaruh bebas tahanan reman
Kesemua individu juga perlu hadir ke pejabat Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) sebulan sekali untuk melaporkan diri.
![KPT alu-alukan syor PAC guna garis panduan pelaburan universiti awam untuk anak syarikat KPT alu-alukan syor PAC guna garis panduan pelaburan universiti awam untuk anak syarikat](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81719822088_ZambryAbdKadir.jpg)
KPT alu-alukan syor PAC guna garis panduan pelaburan universiti awam untuk anak syarikat
KPT mengalu-alukan cadangan PAC berhubung pelaksanaan dan pemakaian Garis Panduan Pelaburan dan Pembiayaan oleh Universiti Awam 2024, kepada anak-anak syarikat di bawah seliaan kementerian itu.
![SUKMA 2024: Sepak takraw wanita mungkin digugurkan SUKMA 2024: Sepak takraw wanita mungkin digugurkan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61720679430_AbdulKarimRahman.jpg)
SUKMA 2024: Sepak takraw wanita mungkin digugurkan
Sepak takraw wanita berpasukan berkemungkinan akan digugurkan daripada senarai acara temasya Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) 2024 berikutan jumlah penyertaan kurang daripada jumlah minimum yang ditetapkan.
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024)
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
![Enam rakyat Vietnam ditemukan maut di sebuah hotel di Bangkok Enam rakyat Vietnam ditemukan maut di sebuah hotel di Bangkok](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-12/41702437730_maut.jpg)
Enam rakyat Vietnam ditemukan maut di sebuah hotel di Bangkok
Enam orang ditemukan maut di sebuah hotel di Bangkok, Thailand pada Selasa laporan media tempatan yang memetik polis Bangkok.
AWANI 7:45 [16/07/2024] - Suspek dibawa ke lokasi | Selamat tinggal rakyat Malaysia | Harimau Malaya hilang taring?
- Polis sahkan suspek bunuh Kartini anggota polis.
- Pan-Gon enggan dedah punca letak jawatan.
- Faisal Halim sedih mentor Pan-Gon undur diri.
- Pakai reben putih di Parlimen, tak salah.
- Pan-Gon enggan dedah punca letak jawatan.
- Faisal Halim sedih mentor Pan-Gon undur diri.
- Pakai reben putih di Parlimen, tak salah.
![Isteri calon gandingan Trump letak jawatan di firma guaman Isteri calon gandingan Trump letak jawatan di firma guaman](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/41721139141_TBJDUSHA.jpg)
Isteri calon gandingan Trump letak jawatan di firma guaman
Usha Vance, isteri kepada Senator J.D. Vance yang dipilih sebagai calon gandingan bekas presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS) Donald Trump awal minggu ini, telah meletakkan jawatannya di sebuah firma guaman,
![Najib fail permohonan di mahkamah rayuan cabar Titah Adendum Najib fail permohonan di mahkamah rayuan cabar Titah Adendum](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-05/71683779541_TBNAJIBRAZAK.jpg)
Najib fail permohonan di mahkamah rayuan cabar Titah Adendum
Berdasarkan sistem e-filing mahkamah, rayuan itu telah ditetapkan untuk pengurusan kes pada 7 Oktober ini.
![Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/51719354914_Destroyedbuildings.jpg)
Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB
Beliau berkata tahap pertempuran dan kemusnahan yang melampau di Gaza tidak dapat difahami dan tidak boleh dimaafkan.
![PM Anwar kecam cubaan bunuh Trump, serangan berterusan Israel di Gaza PM Anwar kecam cubaan bunuh Trump, serangan berterusan Israel di Gaza](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61720938687_DonaldTrump.jpg)
PM Anwar kecam cubaan bunuh Trump, serangan berterusan Israel di Gaza
Beliau berharap keadaan terkawal dan menegaskan keganasan bukanlah jawapannya, walaupun ada yang menentang tokoh politik berkenaan.
![Malaysia ulangi gesaan akhiri keganasan di Palestin Malaysia ulangi gesaan akhiri keganasan di Palestin](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-01/61706688348_wismaputra.jpg)
Malaysia ulangi gesaan akhiri keganasan di Palestin
Serangan pada Sabtu mengorbankan nyawa rakyat Palestin termasuk wanita dan kanak-kanak serta mencederakan ratusan individu lain.
![Penduduk Israel tunjuk perasaan desak PM Netanyahu letak jawatan Penduduk Israel tunjuk perasaan desak PM Netanyahu letak jawatan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81720911795_antigovernmentprot.jpg)
Penduduk Israel tunjuk perasaan desak PM Netanyahu letak jawatan
Majoriti penunjuk perasaan mengibarkan bendera sambil membawa sepanduk mengkritik kepimpinan Netanyahu berhubung isu-isu penting.
![Jumlah korban di Gaza meningkat kepada 38,443, lebih 88,000 cedera Jumlah korban di Gaza meningkat kepada 38,443, lebih 88,000 cedera](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/51719354914_Destroyedbuildings.jpg)
Jumlah korban di Gaza meningkat kepada 38,443, lebih 88,000 cedera
Jumlah kematian rakyat Palestin akibat serangan Israel sejak 7 Oktober telah meningkat kepada 38,443 orang, dengan 88,481 individu mengalami kecederaan.
![Pendengaran permohonan jaminan pasangan dituduh bekal senjata kepada warga Israel ditetapkan 25 Julai Pendengaran permohonan jaminan pasangan dituduh bekal senjata kepada warga Israel ditetapkan 25 Julai](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/71712568630_wargaisraelmemili.jpg)
Pendengaran permohonan jaminan pasangan dituduh bekal senjata kepada warga Israel ditetapkan 25 Julai
Permohonan itu dikemukakan peguam Mohamad Isa Mohamad Basir mewakili Sharifah Faraha yang sebelum ini tidak ditawarkan jaminan sejak dituduh.
![Meta akan padam kandungan hina zionis di Facebook, Instagram Meta akan padam kandungan hina zionis di Facebook, Instagram](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-03/41709656518_MetaPlatforms.jpg)
Meta akan padam kandungan hina zionis di Facebook, Instagram
Ini kerana perkataan zionis kini digunakan oleh kumpulan-kumpulan tertentu sebagai alasan untuk memukul rata kesemua individu Yahudi serta Israel.
![Jurang Israel dan Hamas kekal - White House Jurang Israel dan Hamas kekal - White House](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-02/51676342900_JohnKirby.jpg)
Jurang Israel dan Hamas kekal - White House
Pegawai kanan AS dilaporkan berada di Kaherah untuk rundingan bagi mencapai gencatan senjata antara Israel dan Hamas.
![Ribuan rakyat Palestin larikan diri dalam serangan Israel di barat daya Gaza Ribuan rakyat Palestin larikan diri dalam serangan Israel di barat daya Gaza](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/71719184041_Palestinians.jpg)
Ribuan rakyat Palestin larikan diri dalam serangan Israel di barat daya Gaza
Beribu-ribu rakyat Palestin melarikan diri dari kawasan di barat daya Bandaraya Gaza apabila tentera rejim secara mengejut menyerang mereka buat kali pertama dalam tempoh lebih tiga bulan.
![Hamas terima cadangan AS runding tebusan - Laporan Hamas terima cadangan AS runding tebusan - Laporan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61720223563_tbIsraelimilitary.jpg)
Hamas terima cadangan AS runding tebusan - Laporan
Hamas telah menggugurkan tuntutan agar Israel terlebih dahulu melakukan gencatan senjata kekal sebelum menandatangani perjanjian itu.