[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

There isn't another way to put it: The High Court of Justice of Israel
ruled that the restoration of access for Palestinians to Highway 443 was
more important than the lives of Israeli driving on that road - as well as
the lives of the millions of Israelis that terrorists driving on Highway 443
can reach within minutes.

The court argued that the Palestinians should have access since otherwise it
would not be proper for Palestinian land to be confiscated for the
construction of the road. The court ignore that the road indeed was
originally opened for Palestinian use and the restriction was only imposed
as a result of Palestinian violence. This is not a matter of "collective
punishment" but instead a decision based on practical security
considerations.

The judges can hide behind instructions that measures be taken to insure
that security is not impacted by their decision, but they know damn well
that there are serious limits to the ability to stop terror activity. ]

High Court: Palestinians can use 443
JPost.com staff and Dan Izenberg , THE JERUSALEM POST Dec. 29, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1261364537653&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

The High Court of Justice on Tuesday accepted a petition against an IDF
order barring Palestinians from driving on Highway 443.

The ruling will come into effect in five months time, allowing Palestinians
to use the road for the first time since October 2000, when it was closed
following the outbreak of the second intifada.

Tuesday's decision came despite the court indicating last year that the road
had become a key highway serving tens of thousands of Israelis whose safety
would be endangered if Palestinians were allowed to use it unrestrictedly.

The petition was filed by 30 Palestinians - including the local heads of six
Palestinian towns and villages strung along the segment of the highway which
is situated inside the West Bank.

Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) attorney Limor Yehuda, who
represented the petitioners, hailed the decision as a recognition of the
"illegality of the rule of separation" on Highway 443.

"We can only hope that the IDF will implement the lifting of the ban and
quickly allow residents of the area to realize their right to travel on the
road," she said. "The court has effectively ruled that the IDF overstepped
its authority in closing the road to Palestinians."

"We hope this decision will lead to an end to the disgraceful separation and
banishment of Palestinians from the road paved for them, on their land," she
added.

According to the petitioners, the West Bank military commander expropriated
Palestinian land inside the West Bank to build a 14-kilometer segment of
Highway 443, the rest of which is located on Israeli-annexed territory in
Jerusalem or Israeli territory west of the Green Line in the Modi'in area.

They maintained that in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949
regarding "protected persons" under occupation, the military commander had
two responsibilities - to safeguard the legitimate security interests of the
occupier and to provide for the needs of the protected persons in accordance
with the laws of belligerent occupation. It was illegal for the military
commander to expropriate land for the good of the Israeli population, they
argued.