Israel's Palestinian Road Hit by Critics

Arab construction workers are seen at the E-1 construction site near the West bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007. Israel has expropriated 110 hectares (275 acres) in the West Bank for a new road for Palestinians that would bypass a large Israeli settlement and enable its expansion, Palestinian officials said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) (Sebastian Scheiner - AP)

JERICHO, West Bank -- Israel confirmed Tuesday it is building a new road for Palestinians in the West Bank, prompting charges an increasingly separate road system is meant to seal Israeli control over a swath of land near Jerusalem as the sides try to revive peace talks.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian militant early Wednesday during a raid on a West Bank town, Palestinians said.

Israel has said the 10-mile road will help connect Palestinian communities that would otherwise be cut off by a loop of the Israeli separation barrier that is intended to reach deep into the West Bank.

Palestinian and Israeli critics accused Israel's government of creating "facts on the ground" before peace talks and said it was undermining trust.

"How can we establish a contiguous Palestinian state, in the context of this policy of dividing the Palestinian land and turning it into isolated islands?" said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia called on Israel to rescind its decision and urged the U.S. to intervene. "Such measures will eliminate the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state and thus the possibility of a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said he had no information about the plan. "We're going to look into it," he said.

The new road is part of what a recent U.N. report called an increasingly separate road system emerging in the West Bank. Some 1,032 miles of West Bank roads are mainly for Israeli use, and Palestinian access is restricted by checkpoints and a permit system, the report said.

A road under construction east of Jerusalem has a stretch in which lanes for Israeli and Palestinian traffic are divided by a tall wall. The Israeli lanes connect to Jerusalem, the Palestinians lanes bypass the city.

The road dispute comes at a particularly sensitive time.

Israeli and Palestinian teams are trying to draft a joint declaration that would guide future peace negotiations. The teams first met Monday, will have a second session next week and are to present the document at a U.S.-hosted conference in November.

The document is to address the most difficult issues in the conflict, such as borders, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and Palestinian refugees.