Severe restrictions on the movement of people as well as on the passage of essential goods has had a dire impact on the human rights of the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, roadblocks, checkpoints, and complete restrictions of movement on roads have become an inescapable part of Palestinian daily life. These sweeping and collective measures have decimated the fabric of life of the Palestinian population and have led to inordinate amounts of suffering, mostly by weaker populations, women, and children. 

Despite several victories for ACRI in easing restrictions, this past period witnessed a very dangerous precedent: for the first time, the Supreme Court effectively approved a segregated system of roads for Israelis and Palestinians, following the complete closure of Route 443 to Palestinian vehicles. Within Israel, ACRI awaits the Court's ruling on our petition against racial profiling at airports; painstaking and humiliating checks against Arab citizens - only because they are Arab - are the rule and not the exception, and many are discouraged from traveling abroad altogether as a result. Read more about freedom of movement in this edition of ACRI's newsletter.

As I take the opportunity to wish our Jewish friends a happy and healthy Passover, a festival in which we reflect on the themes of freedom and equality, I would like to thank you all for supporting our struggle to ensure the dignity and fundamental freedoms of all persons.

With Best Wishes,

Rachel Benziman

Route 443 in the West Bank, as viewed from a town whose residents are prohibited from driving on it.

Following a hearing on ACRI's petition against the prohibition on Palestinian vehicles on Route 443 on March 5, the Supreme Court issued an interim decision which effectively issued a stamp of approval on the separation of roads according to nationality, one set of roads for Palestinians and one for Israelis. Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish and judges Levi and Fogelman issued an interim decision ordering the state to submit a progress report on the construction of a parallel road for Palestinians within six months. 

The Court's decision sets a dangerous precedent for human rights in the Occupied Territories. Not only does it uphold state-sponsored racial segregation, it disregards all of ACRI's principled claims and accepts the State's claims at face value. In the aftermath of the shocking decision, ACRI is deliberating its next steps; we will keep our supporters updated of new developments in this case.

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 case itself represents a watershed moment in the legal history of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. In the 1980s, parts of the road were built on land expropriated by the Israeli Military Commander. 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. 
 
Read the article published in The New York Times (March 29, 2008) about ACRI's work to defend residents affected by the closure by clicking here.

Unfortunately, in other areas of the West Bank, severe restrictions still apply. Since September 2007, ACRI has been monitoring a checkpoint set up near the Dead Sea, preventing Palestinians from accessing the popular vacation spot and the only point of access to the sea in the West Bank. The army set up the checkpoint because of a complaint by Israelis that Palestinians' presence there was harming their business, according to the testimony of two IDF officers in reserves. Since September, ACRI has submitted two interventions highlighting the grave violation of freedom of movement imposed by the checkpoint and its illegality; no written order had been issued to authorize the restriction.

In late March, Israel announced it would remove dozens of roadblocks in the West Bank as a result of pressure by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but to date Israel has not fulfilled these promises. ACRI's team of attorneys and field workers will continue to monitor the situation on the ground and ensure that these decisions are implemented.