Spatial Shaping in J'lem Continues with Opening of Route 20

As we had predicted (and reported in the Israeli press over the weekend), a new road in Jerusalem – Route No. 20 – was opened to traffic on May 5.

Route 20 connects Route 443, the major road that leads from the Tel Aviv area to Jerusalem through the West Bank, to the major road leading from North Jerusalem to Ma’aleh Adumim.  To do so, it bisects the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina.  A map of Route 20 can be viewed/downloaded here.

The significance of this is as follows:

• One of the major components of what we have been describing to you as “Spatial Shaping” – that is, the unilateral creation of a baseline border between Israel and a future entity to be called “Palestine” – is the integration of the settlement blocs seamlessly into the Israeli national road grid.
• This is exactly what Route 20 accomplishes.  Once open, there will be exactly two traffic lights between Tel Aviv and Ma’aleh Adumim – meaning that it will take less time to go from Tel Aviv to Maaleh Adumim than it will to go from Tel Aviv to central parts of West Jerusalem.

Appropriately, Route 20 is being named for Ben Zion Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s late father.