Route 57

The dilemma of the West Bank for Israel is exemplified by Route 57. This
extends due eastward from Netanya, where Israel is at its narrowest, only 18
km or 12 miles wide! It takes 25 mins or so, in traffic, to drive from the
Mediterranean shoreline east along Rehov Herzl (most Israeli cities have a
main street named Herzl) that continues as Rte. 57, thru the Beit Lid
junction, past Kfar Yonah, directly to Tul Karem (Tulkarm). But, an Israeli
can no longer enter Tulkarm, it is in PA territory and is too dangerous
(during the 1970-80s there was a thriving trade between Netanya and
Tulkarm).
Just before Tulkarm the new route 6 runs north-south, it is a modern
toll-road that skirts the highlands of the West Bank and will eventually
join the areas of central Galilee and Beersheva (note that even numbered
roads in Israel run north-south while odd ones run east-west). The junction
of rtes. 57 and 6 is separated from Tulkarm by a part of the security fence
that is an actual wall there, while most of it elsewhere is a chain link
fence. Since the wall is covered mostly by flower beds it doesn't look so
formidable on the Israeli side. It is a wall there, and where it passes
other cities such as Kalkilya, to avoid the Palestinians taking pot-shots at
the passing motorists. Although rte. 6 is a toll road it has been successful
in diverting a lot of traffic away from the congested coastal highways, and
reducing driving time to Jerusalem and the South.
The security fence has undoubtedly contributed significantly to the
reduction of terrorist attacks in the Sharon coastal plain area of Israel.
Only one Israeli, a 7 year old girl, has been shot dead on rte. 6, by a
terrorist, who had accomplices who cut the bars closing off a drain under
the wall at Kalkilya with an oxy-acetylene torch.
Rte. 57 has had its share of casualties. At the Beit Lid junction there is
a small military camp and adjacent to it a makeshift memorial and nearby an
impressive but unfinished formal one to the 22 soldiers who were blown up
and killed there in 1995 in a small cafe. There have also been two suicide
bombings more recently at the Beit Lid junction that have killed 2 Israelis.
So coming back to the dilemma, it is clear that Israel, short of a real and
genuine peace, cannot allow this situation to continue. Even a moderate
attack along this route could easily divide Israel in two and represents too
tempting a target for any future enemy ensconced in the West Bank/ Samaria/
Tulkarm area. Even if a peace deal is made, one cannot rely on future
generations or future leaders of other adjacent Arab States not to take
advantage of this incredible point of weakness. A State cannot exist
without some degree of security, and cannot leave its security in the hands
of people who have proven themselves not only to be untrustworthy, but also
violent and ruthless.
So Israel cannot withdraw from the West Bank and leave it intact as it did
in Gaza. In addition to which there is a considerable Israeli civilian
presence in parts of the West Bank. The three main areas are Kfar Etzion,
that has been Jewish owned since the 1930's, was captured by the Jordanians
in 1948 and returned to Israel in 1967, Ariel, a small city (30,000 people)
east of Tel Aviv, and Ma'ale Adumim (Red Heights) also a city that is due
east of Jerusalem. The security aspects of these towns is obvious, apart
from the religious/historical connections of these and other parts of the
West Bank in Judea and Samaria. To believe that these areas can be given up
as Gaza was is totally unrealistic.
Let's be real. Although in the 1990's a Peace Movement grew in Israel that
believed that giving back all of the territories captured in 1967 would
ensure peace, that has been shown to be a delusion, not based on reality.
Under UN resolution 242 Israel is NOT required to give back "all" of the
territories captured in 1967, and Pres. Bush has recognized formally that
there will have to be territorial compromise on both sides for there to be a
workable peace agreement. Notably, in the Press Conference at the White
House today, Pres. Abbas specifically stated that Israel's responsibility
under the Road Map is to withdraw from "all" the territories, no-one
corrected him, but this he knows to be false. He also said that according
to the Road Map Israel must remove the "wall." although the security barrier
is not mentioned in the Road Map since it was built after this document was
promulgated.
In any future agreement Israeli security concerns east of Tulkarm will have
to be satisfied, including either the holding of territory, or a security
alarm system or preferably both. It cannot depend purely on trust. This
should include holding of territory in the Jordan Valley, that has been
Israeli and Labor Party policy since the Allon Plan of the 1970s. Let
no-one belittle these requirements out of misguided ideology, the existence
of the Jewish State and at least hundreds of thousands of Jewish lives
(including our own) may depend on this.