Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Israel has de facto annexed the Jordan Valley

"In the Jordan Valley, the eastern strip of the West Bank, Israel has instituted a regime of permits and harsh restrictions on the movement of Palestinians. These actions have, in effect, served to annex the area to Israel . This is the essential finding of research recently conducted by B'Tselem.

As a rule, the army forbids the entry of Palestinians to the Jordan Valley. Only Palestinians listed as residents of the area are allowed to enter. (...) Israel initially planned to construct an eastern barrier to separate the Jordan Valley from the rest of the West Bank . These plans were abandoned following international criticism of the route of the Separation Barrier as a whole, and the High Court of Justice's decision of June 2004. It is now apparent that what Israel was unable to achieve by a separation barrier is being realized through other means."

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