Israeli plan for occupiers-exclusive route to deepen division of Ramallah: Palestinian commission

A Palestinian commission warned Tuesday of an Israeli plan to reopen Route 463 for occupiers in a move that could isolate eight villages and two major residential neighborhoods in northern Ramallah and Al-Bireh from areas to the south, Anadolu reports.

“The road runs through the urban area of Ramallah and Al-Bireh in the central occupied West Bank, separating its northern and southern parts,” the commission said in a statement.

It warned that reopening the road to occupiers would isolate eight villages and two major residential neighborhoods in the northern part of the urban area from the rest of the governorate.

“The measure would force tens of thousands of Palestinians to use an old alternative road near the Jalazone refugee camp,” it said.

“The alternative route already suffers from severe traffic congestion and cannot accommodate additional vehicles, further complicating Palestinian movement between northern and southern Ramallah,” the statement said.

The commission said it does not view the reopening of Route 463 as an “isolated step,” but as part of a broader series of changes taking place across Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate.

“The plan is a part of a systematic policy to fragment Palestinian geographic and demographic contiguity” in Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, which is home to around 400,000 Palestinians across approximately 80 communities,” the commission added.

The governorate already faces accumulated fragmentation caused by Area C, illegal settlements, bypass roads, military checkpoints and gates, amid escalating Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement, the commission said.

Under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, which was intended as a temporary arrangement, the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C.

Area A is under full Palestinian control, while Area B is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control. Area C, which accounts for around 60% of the West Bank, remains under full Israeli control.

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Occupier pressure

The commission warned that reopening the road to occupiers would represent another step toward a de facto annexation and the severing of Area C from its vital Palestinian geographic connections.

Route 463 was built in 1994 to connect the illegal settlements of Beit El and Dolev, according to the commission.

Following the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000, the Israeli army temporarily barred both occupiers and Palestinians from using parts of the road for what it described as “security reasons”.

In recent months, however, occupier pressure to fully reopen the road has increased, the commission said.

Occupiers have organized protests along sections of the road, carrying Israeli flags and holding events near Palestinian areas under protection from Israeli forces.

On Sept. 8, occupiers blocked a roundabout near the Ein Ayoub area, close to the village of Ras Karkar, and threw stones at Palestinian vehicles, damaging at least one, according to the commission.

The incident was part of an escalation in occupier attacks targeting Palestinians and their vehicles on roads across Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, alongside Israeli military restrictions on Palestinian movement in the area.

Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate has an extensive road network connecting its towns and villages with the governorate’s main urban center.

​​​​​​​The closure of military checkpoints, gates and major roads since October 2023 has increasingly forced Palestinians to rely on secondary and alternative routes to travel between communities.

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