Israeli court rejects separate West Bank road

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday against military regulations prohibiting Palestinian motorists from using a West Bank road, but stopped short of banning a widespread security measure that has drawn charges of discrimination.

The Israeli human rights group behind the appeal said it hoped the court would go further and declare the practice illegal. Many central routes in the West Bank are off-limits to Palestinian drivers because of military restrictions imposed after shooting attacks against Israelis.

Once common, such attacks are rare today.

Thursday’s decision gives the Israeli government three months to find a “more proportionate” method of protecting Israeli drivers on the road, located in the southern West Bank. The decision recognized the government’s right to impose such restrictions to protect Israelis, but said that in this case they caused undue hardship to Palestinians who live in the area.

The decision came as the result of an appeal from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel on behalf of the residents of 22 Palestinian villages affected by the restrictions. In a statement, the group said it was pleased with the ruling but regretted that the court “did not address the legality of such an immoral and extreme practice.”

The group said it hoped the court would rule against similar restrictions on other West Bank roads.

Also Thursday, Israeli warplanes attacked what the military called an arms manufacturing facility and two smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip. The military said the pre-dawn strikes came in retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire into Israel.

There were no reports of casualties.

On Wednesday night, Palestinians in Gaza fired a rocket into southern Israel, causing no injuries or damage.

An Israeli military statement said Palestinians have fired more than 250 rockets and mortar shells into Israel since the end of Israel’s Gaza offensive early this year.