Israeli plan to reopen settler ‘Route 463’ threatens to isolate Ramallah

The Israeli army is reportedly preparing to reopen Route 463 to settler traffic, a move that threatens to isolate eight Palestinian villages and two large residential neighbourhoods in the occupied West Bank. The areas that would be most affected by the reopening of the road would be northern Ramallah and el-Bireh, a suburb of Ramallah city. It would separate the northern and southern parts of the Ramallah and el-Bireh Governorate. The road extends for about 10km (6 miles) from el-Bireh and the Jalazone refugee camp in the east to Ein Qiniya in the west. It was originally constructed in the mid-1990s to connect the Beit El settlement, north of Ramallah, to Dolev, another settlement to the west of the city.