Settler leaders appeal to High Court over by-pass road
Settlers appeal to the High Court of Justice in hope of getting a road finished.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: OCTOBER 23, 2017 02:08Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan and Beit Aryeh-Ofarim Regional Council head Avi Naim point to the missing two kilometers of road. (photo credit: ROI HADI)
Two settler leaders have appealed to the High Court of Justice regarding the unfinished Lubban bypass road in the West Bank.At issue is 2 km. of the road, which the Defense Ministry has not paved for the last 10 years, even though the rest of the road is finished.“We will not rest until we complete this road,” Beit Aryeh-Ofarim Regional Council head Avi Naim said.Both he and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan highlighted the issue of the road after opening a campaign to increase bypass roads in the West Bank.Along with settler leaders and terror victims, they are demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately adopt elements of a NIS 3 billion security plan that Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman is drafting.Over the weekend, however, Naim and Dagan opened a separate campaign to push for the completion of this particular road, on which the state has already spent NIS 250 million to complete, that included a petition to the High Court of Justice (HCJ).“This petition is another stage in the struggle for bypass roads,” Dagan said.The Lubban bypass road was intended to help drivers access Route 444 without traveling through Palestinian villages.Naim and Dagan said that they had written letters to the Prime Minister’s Office and to the Defense Ministry. They also held meetings with relevant officials, but to date there has not been any progress made on the road.“It’s a sad state of affairs, that under a rightwing government we have to turn to the HCJ about this,” Naim said.
