The fastest, shortest way from al-Birah and Ramallah to nine towns and local councils to the east is via Road 466. This road was built in the mid-1990s to serve the Palestinian population. During the second intifada, Israelis were barred from using it to prevent their entry into Ramallah and al-Birah, and it was later blocked off to Palestinian traffic as well. A few years ago, the location of the roadblock on Road 466 changed, and it has since been staffed 24 hours a day. The checkpoint, commonly known as the DCO checkpoint, allows passage to Israelis and about 1,000 Palestinians with VIP passes. The hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the area are barred from using Road 466 and must take bypass roads.
On April 8, 2013,
HaMoked contacted the army on behalf of the Palestinian mayors and council heads of the communities affected by the checkpoint to demand its removal. The army refused, stating
in its response that opening the road to Palestinian traffic would create "security and traffic-related risks", as well as congestion. The army also said that the road was originally meant to allow safe travel for Israeli security forces and residents of the Israeli settlement of Beit El, rather than serve Palestinians. The army suggested alternative "efficient, and convenient" routes Palestinians could use and went so far as to calculate the allegedly minor delays that would result.
On February 6, 2014,
HaMoked petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding it instruct the army to remove the checkpoint. HaMoked described the long detour residents of villages east of Ramallah and al-Birah must make in order to reach these cities, the severe economic toll it takes and the needless waste of time it causes. HaMoked stressed that the DCO checkpoint gravely impedes the Palestinian residents' freedom of movement and occupation as well as their rights to property, education and dignity.
HaMoked addressed, and refuted, some of the army's arguments. With respect to the allegation about the road's original purpose, HaMoked directly quoted the officials involved in planning and building the road, showing unequivocally that the road was meant to serve the Palestinian population. HaMoked also provided accurate calculations of travel times on Road 466 and the bypass routes, showing that the delay is much more significant than the army had claimed and that the army's calculations were entirely inaccurate and contradicted other figures it provided on a different occasion. Finally, HaMoked stated that the army's claim about the potential traffic-related risks associated with opening the road was perplexing considering the army was, at the same time, suggesting that Palestinian residents use roads that are winding, in disrepair and entirely unsafe.
