- 30 December 2009 B’Tselem report

- Photo: ActiveStills Israeli check-point during Ramadan in Palestine.
On 29 December 2009, the High Court of Justice ordered, by majority opinion, cancellation of the ban on Palestinian movement along the section of Route 443 that lies beyond the Green Line. Justice Uzi Fogelman, who wrote the majority opinion, held that the military commander is not authorized to impose such a ban, and additionally, that it is not proportionate. The justices give the military commander five months to formulate an alternate solution that will provide security to Israelis using the road.
In the past, the relevant section of the road was a main traffic artery in the southern part of Ramallah District. Over the years, the route was widened and changed, and in the 1980s, Israel repaved it. The widening of the road was accomplished by expropriating public and private land of Palestinians from the adjacent villages. In its response to the petitions filed by the Palestinian landowners, the High Court held that these expropriations were legal inasmuch as the road was intended to also serve the Palestinian residents.