By Xinhua,
Jerusalem : Israel has set up more roadblocks in the West Bank since last September, despite its repeated pledges to facilitate the movement of local Palestinians, local daily Ha’aretz Saturday quoted a UN agency’s report as saying.
The number of traffic obstacles in the West Bank has increased by 41, or 7 percent, from 566 on Sept. 4 last year to 607 by the April 29, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Jerusalem said in a report released Friday.
According to the report, a total of 103 barriers were dismantled during the period, with 144 new ones constructed.
Palestinians and the international community have repeatedly urged Israel to ease the travel restrictions in the Palestinian territory, saying that the network of hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks amounts to collective punishment and stifles local economy.
The Jewish state, currently in negotiations with the Palestinians with a goal of reaching a comprehensive peace deal within 2008, has reiterated its commitment to make life more convenient in the West Bank, with defense officials saying tens ofbarriers have been removed in recent months.
However, a UN survey in mid-April found that out of the 61 obstacles Israel said it had removed since a late March visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, only 44 had actually been dismantled, most of which were of little or no significance.
Speaking at a Palestinian investment conference in Bethlehem earlier this week, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner criticized the closure of the West Bank, saying “the restrictions on access and mobility are still significant.”
He urged Israel to “exert more efforts in this regard without endangering its security.”
Israeli officials stressed that Israel is doing its utmost to improve the freedom of movement in the West Bank, while it cannot take hasty steps as Palestinian militants still pose a threat.
“That’s our challenge to take down roadblocks, to try to creategreater movement and access for Palestinians while maintaining security,” local daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted government spokesman Mark Regev as saying before the OCHA report was released.