Gush Etzion, West Bank – Israel clamped long-term travel restrictions on West Bank Palestinians on Monday, barring them from major roads amid fears that two drive-by shootings signaled the start of a new round of Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the territory.
The shootings, the restrictions and Israel’s suspension of talks with the Palestinian Authority deflated hopes that Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip and months of relative calm would create a new atmosphere of trust and revive peace efforts after five years of bloodshed.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned the shootings.
“These events harm the cease- fire and the calm that we have respected,” he said.
The effects of the new restrictions were felt immediately across the West Bank, where dozens of new checkpoints appeared on major roads overnight and Palestinian drivers were forced onto smaller back roads.
Israel had restricted Palestinians from traveling on the main roads during much of the Palestinian uprising but started letting them back after a truce agreement was reached in February.
Israeli security officials said the government planned to force Palestinian drivers onto separate roads in the West Bank next year after enough bridges and tunnels were built to give them freedom of movement. The attacks Sunday spurred Israel to enforce the plan immediately, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.
Israel also sealed off the West Bank towns of Hebron and Bethlehem and said it would step up arrest raids against militants.
