Route 443 (Archives)
Photo: Amit Shaabi
Checkpoint on Route 443
Photo: Amit Shabi
Givat Ze'ev petitions court against Route 443 checkpoint
Settlement council warns operating checkpoint at Ofer Prison junction would enable Palestinians to enter community and from there – Jerusalem
Months after the decision to open Route 443 to Palestinian traffic, the council of the Givat Ze'ev settlement filed a petition with the High Court of Justice in a motion to stop the construction of a new roadblock at the Ofer Prison junction.
According to the council members, operating a checkpoint at this location would enable Palestinians to enter their community unhindered, and from there even reach Jerusalem, without undergoing any security checks on the way.
In their petition, the council's representatives demanded that the location of the new checkpoint be moved to the entrance to the Agan Ayalot neighborhood, which is located west of main part of the community.
"Moving the checkpoint is vital, and without it any security arrangement would be meaningless," the petition read.
In addition, the community's heads criticized military bodies, and said the central command chief instructed work to begin on the checkpoint and disregarded the council head's requests to ensure comprehensive security arrangements.
"Construction work on the checkpoint must be halted until the needed solutions are formed to avoid danger, while taking into account the arguments of Givat Ze'ev's residents," the petition read.
On Thursday the IDF published its security plans ahead of the opening of the road. Besides the Ofer checkpoint, vehicles will be allowed to drive through the area around the villages Beit Sira and Beit Ur al-Foka, west of Ramallah, and will have to undergo security checks.
In addition, vehicles will be able to exit the road in the area around the villages Khirbet al-Masbah and a-Tira, also located west of Ramallah.
