For the thousands of Palestinians who travel daily between the north and south West Bank, there is only one route: a steep and narrow track up and down a canyon with 15 hairpin turns and the scars of frequent accidents.
Wadi Nar means "the Valley of Fire," a place where brakes fail, clutches burn up, engines stall and people die.
The ride up and down the canyon walls is among the worst routes Palestinian motorists must use to circumnavigate the towns, army posts and well-maintained highways built for Israelis on land the Palestinians claim for a future state.
West Bank Palestinians are barred from most of these areas. Israel says the system is meant to reduce friction and fire-fights between Palestinians and Israeli settlers. Israel's critics say it benefits 300,000 Jewish settlers while pushing 2.3 million Palestinians onto longer, bumpier alternatives, as well as carving up the territory in ways that complicate future statehood.
The Israeli establishment itself is divided over the extent of the separation. Last month the Israeli Supreme Court overrode the military's objections and ordered it to let Palestinians use part of a major highway previously open only to Israelis.
Separate roads push West Bank Arabs to the byways
A Guardian analysis of government records has found that the vast majority – 77% – of...
In 1850, Andrew Benjamin Tarbutton enslaved 25 people in central Georgia. A year later, he purchased...
Arab and Islamic countries jointly condemned remarks by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who...
