Last update - 00:00 16/01/2007
PM calls for ease of Palestinian movement at W. Bank crossings
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents and The Associated Press
On a tour of new crossing terminals along the West Bank separation barrier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday called on security forces to make movement easier for Palestinians.
Olmert told military and civilian officials in charge of the crossings to cut down the time it takes Palestinian civilians and merchandise to enter Israel.
Olmert said 44 of 160 West Bank roadblocks have been dismantled, and that was only the first stage. "The defense establishment is making a tremendous effort to reduce the number of roadblocks, to ease movement in Judea and Samaria, and to make a significant contribution to the residents' quality of life," he said.
Dismantling the roadblocks was a key promise Olmert made following a summit meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on December 24, 2006.
The separation barrier, which Israel says is a temporary security measure meant to stop suicide bombers, has all the appearances of a border, with fences, patrol roads and modern crossing terminals.
At the Ephraim crossing, a nine-month-old facility that is now the main terminal for Palestinians coming into Israel from the northern West Bank, Olmert pressed the officials in charge to expand the terminal's hours of operation and speed up checking procedures.
Told that trucks are typically held at the crossing point for 45 minutes while their contents are scanned - using equipment specially provided by the U.S. government - Olmert said that the time should be cut to 15 minutes.
"There is a large population whose quality of life will decide what kind of neighbors they will be," Olmert said, referring to the Palestinians. However, Olmert also said that "nothing will be done without security considerations."
Olmert also said that Palestinians should be encouraged to "create places of employment where they live" rather than in Israel, so that they won't be dependent on Israel for work. Thousands of Palestinians cross into Israel each day for work.
An investigation by Haaretz two weeks ago found that where the IDF spokesman claimed there was an easing of restrictions, only in some of the roadblocks there was an easing of restrictions, whereas some had stayed the same.
In other areas, the IDF even added mobile roadblocks, which make the easing of restrictions at the permanent roadblocks meaningless.
However, there has been an improvement in the implementation of the easing of restrictions and dismantlement of the roadblocks since the Haaretz check two weeks ago.
In a November survey, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said there were 528 checkpoints and unmanned obstacles in the West Bank, up from 326 in August 2005. The World Bank has said the Israeli checkpoints have stifled the beleaguered Palestinian economy.
Israel says the checkpoints are a central feature of a military strategy that has drastically cut down Palestinian attacks on Israelis.