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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: February 14, 2006 |
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A prominent Israeli human rights organization on Monday accused Israel of imposing severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, essentially annexing the eastern strip of the West Bank.
Betselem said its research found the army was forbidding entry to the Jordan Valley to those Palestinians who were not residents there. As a result, farmers were separated from their land and relatives were kept apart, it said.
Israel considers the valley, which it captured as part of the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast War, as a strategic buffer with neighboring Arab states. Israel has built a string of small settlements and farming communities in the valley, which borders Jordan.
In a recent TV interview, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert outlined his vision for the future of the West Bank - which Palestinians claim for a future state - saying, "it is impossible to abandon control of the eastern border of Israel." However, he did not refer directly to Israel maintaining sovereignty or settlements there, leading some analysts to speculate that Olmert might consider making the valley a special security zone.
The army responded to the Betselem report with a statement, saying that Palestinians with work permits were allowed to enter the Jordan Valley and humanitarian cases were taken into consideration. It added that the Jordan Valley had considerably less checkpoints than the rest of the West Bank, but they were still necessary.
"In order to prevent terrorism, the Israeli army has taken measures to defend Israeli communities and traffic in the Jordan Valley," it said.
Palestinians had been banned from driving on the main West Bank roads after violence broke out with Israel in September 2000, but were allowed back as tensions eased last year. Restrictions were tightened again after three Israelis were killed in a drive-by shooting Oct. 16. |
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