Worshippers Way
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Worshippers Way or Prayers Road in
Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...
,
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
is a road linking the Israeli settlement of
Kiryat Arba :''This article is mainly about the modern Israeli settlement, not the biblical town'' Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba ( he, קִרְיַת־אַרְבַּע, , Town of the Four) is an urban Israeli settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, in the south ...
with the
Cave of the Patriarchs , alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham) , image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg , alt = , caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009 , map ...
and with the Jewish settlements in Hebron. The road is used by Israelis and tourists who visit the Cave and the Old City of Hebron. Palestinians are denied vehicular use of the road. The road was expanded after an ambush near Kiryat Arba that took place in November 2002. The expansion required that adjacent Palestinian land be expropriated, which resulted in a legal battle. A number of buildings of architectural and historical value, dating back to the Mamluk-Ottoman period, were also expropriated and destroyed.


Names

The Worshippers route has been given numerous names and variants of names, such as "Worshipper's Way", "Worshipers' Way", "Worshippers' Path", etcetera. Before the Israeli High Court the route was called "prayers' path"''HCJ 10356/02 and HCJ 10497/02, Petition for an Order Nisi and an Interlocutory Injunction''
High Court of Justice, 4 March 2004
and "Worshippers' Way".''HCJ 4331/10–Petition for Order Nisi and Interim Injunction''
High Court of Justice, 1 February 2012. O

/ref> An alley which parallels the western part of the route, and used by settlers on foot, is called by them Simtat Erez.


Background

Kiryat Arba is an
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
at the outskirts of Hebron, just outside the eastern municipality border. It is located close to the
Cave of the Patriarchs , alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham) , image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg , alt = , caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009 , map ...
, and six Jewish settlements south of the Old City of Hebron. Kiryat Arba has more than 7,500 residents, while the settlements in Hebron as of 2005 house some 600 settlers, secured by about 1,500 soldiers. Kiryat Arba was built at the edge of the area which the 1967
Allon Plan The Allon Plan ( he, תוכנית אלון) was a plan to partition the West Bank between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, create a Druze state in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and return most of the Sinai Peninsula to Arab con ...
envisioned as being annexed to Israel, while Hebron itself would be part of an enclave with Palestinian self-rule. Originally, the settlers used a route running from the northern entrance via
Al-Shuhada Street Al-Shuhada Street or Shuhada Street ( ar, شارع الشهداء, lit. '' Martyr's Street''; since renamed ''Apartheid Street''; called by local Israeli settlers ''רחוב המלך'' ''דוד'', lit. ''King David Street''), also spelled ''a- ...
(which was closed to Palestinians) to the Cave of the Patriarchs. This road, connecting all the Jewish locations in Hebron, is known by Israelis as "Tzir Zion Road", or "Route of Zion", and was closed to Palestinian traffic in 2001, after two Israeli settlers were killed. In August 2009, the route was reopened to 80 local Palestinian families. Following an ambush near Kiryat Arba in 2002, in which 12 Israeli soldiers and security guards were killed, Israel wanted to build a road directly connecting the southern gate of Kiryat Arba with the Cave.


Plans after the 2002 Hebron ambush

One day after the 2002 Hebron ambush, ''Zvi Katzover'', the head of Kiryat Arba, called on the government to "clean up the area" between Kiryat Arba and the Tomb of the Patriarchs and to destroy the hundreds of Palestinian homes along this short stretch of road.''PM calls for territorial continuity from Kiryat Arba to Hebron''
Haaretz, 17 November 2002
The next day, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that the opportunity that now presents itself in the wake of the attack ... must be exploited to establish new facts on the ground. He said that ''″a window of opportunity existed in the coming 48 hours to establish a "compact" zone of Jewish territorial contiguity between Kiryat Arba and the Jewish enclave in the heart of Hebron, including the Tomb of the Patriarchs″''. Already in 1996, Sharon had presented a plan for a Jewish zone from Kiryat Arba to
Tel Rumeida Tel Rumeida ( ar, تل رميدة; he, תל רומיידה), also known as Jabla al-Rahama and referred to by Israeli settlers as Tel Hebron is an archaeological, agricultural and residential area in the West Bank city of Hebron. Within it, l ...
and Beit Hadassah, including the ancient Karaite and Sephardi cemeteries.''PM demands `quick' changes in Hebron for Jewish control''
Haaretz, 18 November 2002
Housing and Construction Minister
Natan Sharansky Natan Sharansky ( he, נתן שרנסקי; russian: Ната́н Щара́нский; uk, Натан Щаранський, born Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky on 20 January 1948); uk, Анатолій Борисович Щаранський, ...
supported the plan to link the settlements and build settlement contiguity.''Sharon threatens to expand Hebron enclave''
Conal Urquhart, The Guardian, 18 November 2002
Tourism Minister
Yitzhak Levy Yitzhak Levy ( he, יצחק לוי, born 6 July 1947) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party (NRP) and the Ahi faction of the National Union between 1988 and 2009. Betw ...
ordered his ministry to speed up its preparations for a "tourism promenade" between Kiryat Arba and the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The plan envisioned a Jewish settlers–only promenade consisting of an open promenade in an area that was not built up, and an "alley promenade" through the southern edge of the old town of Hebron, among ancient buildings with cultural, historical, archaeological and architectural values.''Pernicious promenade''
Esther Zandberg, Haaretz, 12 December 2002
The Kiryat Arba Council and the council of settlers in Hebron's Jewish enclave announced a plan to build 1,000 housing units between Kiryat Arba and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, in the area in which the ambush had taken place. Housing and Construction Minister
Natan Sharansky Natan Sharansky ( he, נתן שרנסקי; russian: Ната́н Щара́нский; uk, Натан Щаранський, born Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky on 20 January 1948); uk, Анатолій Борисович Щаранський, ...
supported the plan and ordered his ministry's workers to review the possibility of expropriating lands in the city and using them for Jewish residential purposes.


Expansion

Two weeks after the ambush, on 29 November 2002, the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
(IDF) issued a sequestration order to seize Palestinian lands and demolish a number of buildings under ''"Decree Number 61/02/T to Expropriate Property"''. Contradictory to the original promenade plan, 22 buildings of architectural and historical value, dating back to the Mamluk-Ottoman period would be demolished in the old town of Hebron "for military needs". A 730 meters long and 6 to 12 meters wide corridor was planned on 8.2
dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amount ...
s of expropriated land, about a quarter of which in the old town of Hebron. According to the High Court, the total width of the alley was originally planned to amount 8 meters. Thirteen buildings along the south–western part of the route were to be demolished, and a concrete wall was to be built along the north–eastern part of the route. According to the American administration and Israeli sources close to the planning, the aim of the expropriation of the land and the building of the promenade was to create territorial contiguity between Kiryat Arba and Hebron. On 1 December 2002, the IDF posted warrants to seize and demolish 15 Palestinian properties, with the plan to widen the road. On 8 December 2002, the IDF started the expansion of the road with a large truck and bulldozers, while a work stoppage order, issued by the High Court, ordered not to demolish Palestinian buildings adjacent to areas planned for the new promenade. On 11 December 2002, the Municipality of Hebron and Palestinian landowners issued a petition (HCJ 10497/02) at the High Court against the sequestration. Another petition (HCJ 10356/02) was issued by Israeli conscientious objectors of
Yesh Gvul Yesh Gvul ( he, יש גבול, can be translated as "There is a limit", as "There is a border", or as "Enough is enough") is a movement founded in 1982 at the outbreak of the Lebanon War, by combat veterans who refused to serve in Lebanon. Yesh ...
. Following the petitions and remarks of the court, the plan was adapted; the width of the promenade would be smaller, and only 3 of the 13 houses demolished. The houses were already abandoned for years after the army had declared the area a closed military zone.''Demolition of Palestinian houses in Hebron to ease the daily life of settlers: HCJ 10356/02 Haas v. IDF Commander in the West Bank (judgement rendered March 4, 2004)''
Yossi Wolfson, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, 1 December 2012
In February 2003, the High Court prohibited the demolition of the 22 houses from to the Mamluk-Ottoman period. According to UNESCO, eventually three of them were destroyed and eleven others damaged. In its decision of 4 March 2004, the High Court stipulated that praying in the Tomb was part of the constitutional right to freedom of religion and worship for the residents of the area. It even stated that ''″The freedom of religion is a constitutional basic right of the individual, of a status even higher than other constitutional human rights″''. The Court decided that the right to freedom of religion and worship for the settlers of Kiryat Arba, including a safe route to the Tomb, prevailed over the right to private property for the Palestinian landowners. It found that the ''″relative impingement upon property rights of the property owners along the route, which was limited to a minimum″'' justified the expropriation of the Palestinian lands. After the High Court decision, on 7 May 2004, the IDF ordered the demolition of 11 houses in the Wadi Al-Nassara and Haret Jaber neighborhoods, and the confiscation of 700 square meters of Palestinian land close to the
Ibrahimi Mosque , alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham) , image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg , alt = , caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009 , map ...
belonging to the
Waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...
, all located in the area between Kiryat Arba and the Mosque. On 10 August, the Israeli Army demolished the houses, dating back to the Ottoman and Mamluk periods. ''Geopolitical Status in Hebron Governorate''
p. 11. LRC (Jerusalem), December 2006


Third route, Dana Way

In 2004, settlers built a cement path in the ''Wadi al Hussein'' (Wadi a-Nasara) from the southwestern entrance of Kiryat Arba to the Worshippers Way,''Israeli Colonists Attempts to Open a Road''
POICA, 27 May 2013
''OPT: Protection of civilians''
Weekly report 19–25 May 2010, par. ''Israeli authorities continue to issue demolition orders''. OCHA, 27 May 2010 (the source refers to the ambush near Kiryat Arba, on 15 November 2002).
called "Dana Way". Initially, the State ordered the IDF to remove the path, but the IDF ignored the orders. When the Palestinian land owners went to the Israeli High Court (HCJ) in 2007, the State first declared that the path would be demolished, but later said it was needed for military reasons. The IDF declared that it was a military security road, with a secondary use by worshippers as a pedestrian path.''Using "security grounds" to legalize illegal settler building: HCJ 4331/10 City of Hebron v. State of Israel (judgment rendered February 1, 2012)''
Yotam Ben Hillel, HaMoked–Center for the Defence of the Individual, 30 December 2012
In May 2010, the land owners received a ''land seizure order'', which in effect legalized the already existing
dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...
. On 1 February 2012, the High Court ruled on a petition against the 2010 land seizure order and approved the path, based on security reasons, as a more secure alternative to Worshippers Way.


Criticism

Human rights organization
HaMoked HaMoked (Hebrew:המוקד, Center for the Defence of the Individual) is an Israel based human rights organization founded by Dr. Lotte Salzberger with the stated aim of assisting " Palestinians subjected to the Israeli occupation which causes s ...
criticized the role of the High Court as supporting the Israeli state in institutionalizing the presence of the settlers in the territory, which is illegal under international law. While international law forbids to destroy or seize the enemy's property if not necessary for imperative operational military needs, the state argued that the expanded road was needed for the safety of the settlers; the state itself, however, was party to the illegal presence of the settlers. HaMoked blamed the Court for accepting, without a "second guess", the state's and the army's assertion that the road was ''not'' meant to create Jewish territorial contiguity, but was based purely on security considerations and was meant to protect the lives of the worshippers using the road.


See also

*
Al-Shuhada Street Al-Shuhada Street or Shuhada Street ( ar, شارع الشهداء, lit. '' Martyr's Street''; since renamed ''Apartheid Street''; called by local Israeli settlers ''רחוב המלך'' ''דוד'', lit. ''King David Street''), also spelled ''a- ...
* Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Hebron


References


External links


''Israeli " Prayers" Road" built on ruins of ancient Palestinian houses in the old city of Hebron''
POICA, 7 September 2004 (This page contains maps that are rotated upside down!)
''Israeli Colonists Attempts to Open a Road''
POICA, 27 May 2013

Jennifer Peterson, The Palestine Report/Media Monitors Network, 20 December 2002
''Destroying History''
Ahmad Sub Laban, Palestine Report, 1 September 2004
''‘They have two roads on our land already, why do they need a third…?’''
ISM, 27 June 2013
''Updates on settler road expansion,''
Christian Peacemaker Teams, 27 June 2013
''Map of the Hebron center''
{{coord, 31.5248, N, 35.1151, E, source:wikidata, display=title Jews and Judaism in Hebron Israeli–Palestinian conflict