'Israel' to build “Sovereignty Road” separating Palestinians in West Bank
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- 'Israel' plans to build “Sovereignty Road” in the West Bank, cutting off 3% of territory from Palestinians.
- Road aims to separate 'Israeli' settlers from Palestinians, enabling de facto annexation of Ma’ale Adumim and E1.
Hebrew sources report that 'Israel' plans to begin constructing the so-called “Sovereignty Road” within 45 days, linking the towns of al-Eizariya and al-Za’im in the southern West Bank and east of occupied Jerusalem. The project will effectively block Palestinians from the Ma’ale Adumim settlement area and the entire E1 zone, covering nearly 3% of the West Bank.
Left-wing 'Israeli' group Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity, described the road as creating a “separate system of roads for 'Israeli' settlers and Palestinians”, a move it labeled a form of apartheid. The road would reroute Palestinian traffic to bypass the area entirely, while Ma’ale Adumim and E1 would be fully integrated into 'Israel'.
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Peace Now said the project has no intention of improving Palestinian transport and is solely designed to enable 'Israel' to control the heart of the West Bank and remove any Palestinian presence.
Historical context
Since the construction of the separation wall around Jerusalem in the early 2000s, the main Palestinian north-south route through eastern Jerusalem has been severed. Palestinians traveling from Bethlehem to Ramallah must now take a long detour through Abu Dis, al-Eizariya, and past Ma’ale Adumim along Route 1, creating a major transportation bottleneck in the heart of the largest Palestinian urban area, home to nearly one million Palestinians.
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The establishment of Ma’ale Adumim and surrounding settlements, and the planned E1 expansion, are part of a long-term strategy to prevent development in central West Bank areas for Palestinians.
Road plan and annexation goals
The planned bypass will force Palestinians along a route through the area 'Israel' seeks to annex. A new alternative road for Palestinians will divert traffic from Ma’ale Adumim, allowing 'Israel' to close off the region and annex it fully.
The road was officially termed a “security road”, likely to bypass planning restrictions in Area B, which is under Palestinian administrative authority according to the 1995 interim agreement. Using military seizure powers instead of standard public land procedures allows 'Israel' to carry out construction largely in secret.
Local Palestinian communities, including Bedouin villages such as Khan al-Ahmar, have petitioned 'Israel’s' Supreme Court to halt construction, arguing it will isolate tens of communities, cut off access to essential services, and force displacement of thousands.
Impact on Palestinian statehood
Peace Now warns that the road will have catastrophic effects on a future Palestinian state and on Palestinians living near the project. It will sever geographic continuity between northern and southern West Bank, particularly the vital urban corridor from Ramallah through eastern Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
The E1 settlement expansion and the Sovereignty Road would effectively split the West Bank in two, undermining the possibility of a contiguous, viable Palestinian state and the prospects for a two-state solution.
