Irony of Oslo

The "upside" of the following news item is that all those Palestinian loving Jews on the radical Left will now feel better about all the money Israel invested in "by-pass" roads during the Oslo period. They were originally created to make it possible for Israeli traffic to travel through the non-Palestinian controlled areas safely, while permitting a withdrawal of Israel security forces from Palestinian controlled areas. From time to time I would read of the "hundreds of millions" spent on roads intended for "settlers Only" as I would stand on the side of these roads watching Arab traffic pass by, waiting for the occasional Jew to offer me a lift.

Now these roads will become forbidden to Jewish traffic, and THAT will be a reason to rejoice!

The next step in the government's attempts to implement the US backed road map for setting up a Palestinian state, may be to prohibit Jews from driving on the main highway in Judea and Samaria.

Main Road in Judea and Samaria May be Closed to Jewish Traffic
By Scott Shiloh
Israel National News

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 Beersheva in the Negev, through Hevron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Bet 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 literally on Route 60 will not be able to use the road to reach their destinations.

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 dozens of miles 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.