PA demands that Israel remove 16 military roadblocks

Sunday October 28, 2007 16:37 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies

The Palestinian Authority (PA) demanded Israel one month ago to remove 16 military roadblocks in the West Bank, within the protracted U.S-backed Road Map peace blueprint.  There are over 700 roadblocks and checkpoints controlled by Israel throughout the West Bank.

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According to the Israeli online Daily (Haaretz), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas referred to such a demand during talks he held over the weekend with Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert in west Jerusalem.

PM Olmert and his foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, informed President Abbas that Israel wants the Palestinians to implement their part of the first phase of the Road Map, as the Palestinian team accused Israel of blocking their implementation.  For example, part of the Palestinian side of the agreement was to send security forces to Nablus, in the northern West Bank, to control the situation there.  But Israeli forces stopped the Palestinian security guards at a checkpoint on the way to Nablus and would not allow them to pass through.

The Palestinian Authority called on Israel to return things to the way they were before the current outbreak of violence in September 2000.

In 2002, the U.S formulated a peace plan, known as the 'Road Map', calling on both Israelis and Palestinians to take simultaneous reciprocal measures on the ground, including the halting of settlement activities by the Israeli side, and the dismantling of resistance groups by the Palestinian side.

At the time the proposal was made, Israel put forward a list of fourteen excuses as to why they could not comply (the proposal was made as Israel was in the midst of a massive offensive throughout the Palestinian territories that resulted in over 600 dead in two months).

Since that time, Israel has continued to increase the roadblocks and checkpoints on the ground throughout the West Bank.  The United Nations now estimates that there are over 700 checkpoints and roadblocks throughout the West Bank that severely restrict the movement of Palestinians.  Many Palestinians are imprisoned inside their own villages or towns, unable to travel even to a neighboring Palestinian town due to the complete Israeli control of their land.

west bank | diplomacy | news report rami at imemc dot org