JERUSALEM (Agencies) – Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the military to let Palestinians use a road that runs through the West Bank.

Palestinians were barred from the Jerusalem to Tel Aviv Highway 443 in 2002. The case was brought by Palestinians who live in the villages along the 12.5-mile (20-km) West Bank section of the road, BBC reported.
The road was built on land appropriated from the villagers who lived along its course.
About half of the 20-mile highway runs through the West Bank. Palestinians living in villages along the route petitioned to reopen it in 2007.
The court said in a summary of its ruling that the military does not have the authority to impose a permanent and sweeping limitation on Palestinian travel along the West Bank section of the road because that “in effect transforms the road into a route designed for 'internal' Israeli traffic alone.'
It also said the closure of the road “does not benefit the local population, from whom lands were appropriated to build it.” The judges ruled that security considerations cannot take precedence, the Associated Press reported.
But villagers are prevented from getting on the highway by concrete barricades and military checkpoints along its length.
The military have five months to implement the ruling and dismantle the barriers.
It is the second time in recent months the court has ordered the military to open roads to Palestinians.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which provided legal representation to the Palestinians, said it was “a huge victory”.