Israel to build new bypass road South of Bethlehem

Israeli authorities notified the municipality of Beit Ummar on Wednesday of plans to build a bypass road which will annex over 800 dunams of village land, a local committee spokesman said. Mohammed Awad, spokesman of the national committee against the wall, said the military order entails a bypass road starting from the junction of Kefar Etzion settlement and passing through Al-Arrub refugee camp and Beit Ummar village, south of Bethlehem. According to the military order, work will begin next week leaving village residents no time to mount a legal challenge in Israeli courts, Awad said. The road will displace dozens of families who depend on agricultural land for their source of income. Awad said the popular committees will hold a number of activities in order to protest the road.