to apply crippling impediments through the use of checkpoints and other barriers, and to impair the economy by undermining key industries and driving up the unemployment rate. Eventually, Palestinians become so entrenched in the dire economic situation and, the resulting coercive environment, that it culminates in their forcible transfer from their homes and villages in search of new opportunities either in the main urban centers, such as Bethlehem, or outside of Palestine. Importantly, control of the transportation routes are at the heart of Israel’s strategy to cut these ties among the Palestinian people and to reduce economic potential. Diversion through Wadi al-Nar: Controlling access to the north The steep, winding road through Wadi al-Nar has become the sole route that connects the south and north of the West Bank and is currently still accessible to Palestinians without a permit. Prior to the First Intifada, this route was largely a series of dirt farm roads and footpaths cutting through the valley, which was once a British military supply route.190 In the late 1980s, when Israel first began implementing movement restrictions on Palestinian access to Jerusalem, the Wadi al-Nar road abruptly became a critical passageway for passenger and commercial transport between the economic and tourist hubs of Hebron and Bethlehem, and the northern cities of Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin.191 In 2005, all West Bank traffic was prohibited from accessing East Jerusalem through the traditional route of the Jerusalem-Hebron Road (also known as Route 60); this closure successively required all West Bank vehicles to travel via Wadi al-Nar.192 Thirty years later, this road continues to have a significant impact on the isolation of Bethlehem and the fracturing of the West Bank overall. Firstly, the road is exceptionally dangerous. The whole road stretches for about 3.5 km and has 13 dangerous sharp turns, which overlook the steep valley. As the only commercial thoroughfare, when used by freight vehicles it often becomes impassable, even with its recent upgrade and widening. Combined with more than 22,000 vehicles traversing this road every day,193 significant 190 PLO, “Strangling Bethlehem, Obstructing Peace” [Arabic], Fact Sheet, 2005, available at: https://bit. ly/2ohinqr [accessed 26 February 2020]. 191 Hanna Maoh and Jad Isaac, “The Status of Transportation in the West Bank,” World Transport Policy and Practice 5, no. 4 (September 2014), 18-29. 192 OCHA, “Restrictions on the Movement of People and Goods Within the West Bank,” Technical Note (30 November 2005), available at: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-203620/ [accessed 28 February 2020]. 193 Mohammed Marar, “The Valley of Fire Project is a Long-Awaited Dream,” Raya Media Network, 30 June 2019, available at: https://www.raya.ps/news/1068016.html [accessed 27 September 2019]. 56