31 Dec 2009

Supreme Court orders opening of highway to Palestinians

4:15 pm on 31 December 2009

Palestinians will be allowed to use a major road through the occupied West Bank for the first time in years, following an order by the Israeli Supreme Court.

The tribunal said the Israeli army overstepped its authority when it banned Palestinian traffic from using a four-lane highway from Jerusalem to Te Aviv in 2002, following fatal attacks along the route.

The BBC reports the army has been given five months to devise new security measures and the ban will remain in place until then.