Israel lets Palestinians use Hebron road for first time in 8 years
By Chaim Levinson, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Correspondent, and Reuters
Last update - 18:10 02/08/2009
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104645.html

Israeli authorities on Sunday opened a road from Hebron to the Jewish
settlement of Kiryat Arba to Palestinian traffic for the first time in eight
years.

Tzir Zion Road, or "Route of Zion," is the central artery connecting all the
Jewish locations in the West Bank city. It was closed to Palestinian traffic
in 2001, not long after the outbreak of the second intifada and following a
spate of terror attacks against Israelis.

In 2008, the Hebron municipality petitioned the High Court in a bid to
cancel the restrictions on Palestinian vehicles. The state told the High
Court in response that it would drop some of the restrictions, and that the
road would be opened to Palestinians with prior approval and whose vehicles
have been registered.

Hebron governor Hussein al-Araj said the opening of the road on Sunday was
an attempt by Israel to distract from its continued settlement activities,
which its main ally, the United States, wants stopped. He called on
Palestinians not to use the road.

"This decision is an Israeli ploy designed to divert attention from
settlement activity," Araj said. "I call on Palestinians not to use the road
because this would amount to helping Israel campaign to improve its image."

The Yesha Council of Settlements, for its part, also criticized the new
measure, saying that by opening the route, it was ignoring "bloodied
experiments from the past" and was placing the comfort of some Arab families
over the peace and security of thousands of residents of the area, IDF
soldiers and visitors to the Cave of the Patriarchs.

"The government must give priority to protecting its citizens' lives and not
endangering them in an irresponsible manner," the council said.