JERUSALEM – March 4, 2008 – The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) will urge the Supreme Court at a hearing tomorrow to take actions to repeal the IDF’s complete restriction on Palestinian movement on Route 443 in the West Bank. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, March 5 at 9 a.m. at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem.
Palestinian residents of the West Bank have been prohibited from driving on Route 443, a main thoroughfare for some 160,000 area residents, since the end of 2000. The restriction severely violates basic human rights including the right to freedom of movement and the right to livelihood. In addition, such a sweeping restriction constitutes blatant and systematic discrimination on the basis of national origin.
The case of Route 443 represents a watershed moment in the legal history of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Parts of the road were built on land expropriated by the 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 which is today prohibited from using the road.
If the Supreme Court fails to accept ACRI’s petition, its decision will effectively overturn the historical ruling, call into question Israel’s adherence to the fundamental principles of international law, and could pave the way for Israeli exploitation of Palestinian land and resources for purely economic (rather than security) reasons.
The petition, filed on behalf of six Palestinian villages along Route 443 and 18 local residents was submitted by ACRI Attorney Limor Yehuda on March 7, 2007. For background information, click on the following link: https://law.acri.org.il/en/?p=364.
