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Army to Remove West Bank Roadblocks as Reward for Quiet

[Jerusalem Post ] Yaakov Katz - The Civil Administration in the West Bank has negotiated a deal with a number of Palestinian villages in the Kalkilya region to remove dirt roadblocks cutting off their access to nearby cities in exchange for the cessation of local terror activity, a senior IDF commander said Tuesday. Over the past year, residents of Azun and Marda have been responsible for over 25 monthly stone throwing and Molotov cocktail attacks along Highway 5, which connects Tel Aviv with Ariel, and Road 55, which runs from Kfar Saba to Nablus. In November, Ido Zoldan was gunned down on Road 55, and few months ago, an IDF soldier was wounded at a hitchhiking post on Highway 5. IDF Lt.-Col. Samir Amar met with the elders in the villages and convinced them it was in their interest to crack down on the youths behind the attacks. The IDF also decided to permit the deployment of 20 armed PA policemen inside the villages to prevent additional attacks. "We told them that if they stopped the attacks we would ease restrictions on the villages," Amar said Tuesday. "Since then, there has not been a single incident in the past month and a half." Following the crackdown, the IDF removed three dirt roadblocks allowing villagers to reach Kalkilya within 10 minutes, as opposed to the 45 minutes it took before.
2008-06-18 01:00:00
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