Ramallah district road opened after 15 years of closure
May 25, 2015 3:06 A.M. (Updated: May 25, 2015 3:54 A.M.)
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765603

RAMALLAH (Ma'an - Palestinian news agency) -- The Israeli authorities on
Monday reopened a West Bank road between Ramallah and the eastern village of
Beitin that has been closed 15 years.

Beitin residents have been forced to take a route to Ramallah almost 20
kilometers long since 2000, even though the village lies just three
kilometers from Ramallah.

Only private cars will be allowed to use the reopened road, while taxis,
buses and trucks will be banned.

The road will also be used by Israeli settlers from the illegal settlements
of Bet El and Psagot.

Director of the local PA liaison office, Nadir Hajji, said that "long
negotiations with the Israeli liaison office" had been required to convince
the Israelis to reopen the road.

The Israeli Civil Administration reportedly described its reopening as a
"good will gesture" to the PA.

They had previously informed the Beitin municipality that they would only
agree to open the road if it underwent improvements to make it more usable.

The road's inauguration on Monday morning took place after the road had been
leveled and repaved with asphalt.

The inauguration was attended by representatives of the Beitin village
council, the Ministry of Local Governance, and the Ramallah and al-Bireh
governor's office, as well as Palestinian and Israeli liaison officers.

Israeli forces maintain severe restrictions on Palestinians' freedom of
movement in the West Bank through a complex combination of fixed
checkpoints, flying checkpoints, roads forbidden to Palestinians but open
exclusively to Jewish settlers, and various other physical obstructions.

At any given time there are about 100 permanent Israeli checkpoints in the
West Bank, while surprise flying checkpoints often number into the hundreds.

The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West
Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli
military since 1967.