Israel takes West Bank land for increasingly separate road systems

Israel confirmed Tuesday that it is building a new road for Palestinians in the West Bank, prompting complaints that an increasingly separate road system is meant to seal Israeli control over a large chunk of land near Jerusalem, even as the sides are trying to revive peace talks.

Israel said the 16-kilometer (10-mile) road will help connect Palestinian communities that would otherwise be cut off by a loop of Israel’s separation barrier that is to reach deep into the West Bank.

Palestinian officials accused Israel of creating facts on the ground and undermining trust. Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia called on Israel to rescind its decision, and urged the U.S. to intervene. “Such measures will eliminate the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state and thus the possibility of a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” he said.

The row over the road comes at a particularly sensitive time. Israeli and Palestinian teams are trying to draft a joint declaration that would guide future peace negotiations. The teams first met Monday, will have a second session next week and are to present to the document at a U.S.-hosted conference in November.

The document is to address the most difficult issues in the conflict, such as borders, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and Palestinian refugees. Israel insists it is ready to negotiate a peace deal. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his parliament on Monday that he would not miss this opportunity and warned that failure to reach agreement would mean a “demographic struggle steeped in blood and tears.”

At the same time, though, Israel has been pressing ahead with its contentious West Bank separation barrier, including a segment around Jerusalem, known as the “Jerusalem Envelope.”

Planned to keep out Palestinian attackers, the barrier will also slice off about 10 percent of the West Bank, and some Israeli leaders have suggested it should form the basis of a future border. According to such proposals, the Palestinians could be compensated for the loss of territory in a land swap.

In the Jerusalem area, the Israeli measures have had the most far-reaching repercussions for a future Palestinian state. The barrier encircling Jerusalem has been largely completed, but a gap of several kilometers (miles) has been left on the eastern side.

According to a government-approved route, the barrier would dip deep into the West Bank in that area, in order to incorporate not just the Maaleh Adumim settlement of 30,000 residents, about three kilometers (two miles) from Jerusalem, but also outlying Jewish enclaves, for a total of 60 square kilometers (23 square miles).

Jericho, West Bank, AP