While the death toll on Israel’s roads continues to climb, with 358 people killed in 2023 due to motor vehicle accidents, the ability to deter Palestinian drivers from violating the rules of the road continues to deteriorate.
Even in cases where Palestinians are issued tickets for life-threatening traffic infringements such as speeding or driving through red lights, there is little to no incentive for them to pay their fines, and Israeli police have no way to enforce them.
During a meeting this week of the Knesset Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria, the topic of law enforcement on roads in Judea and Samaria was discussed. The meeting, which was initiated by subcommittee chairman Tzvi Sukkot, revealed a troubling phenomenon.
Police representatives said during the Knesset discussion that 79% of tickets issued to Arabs in the region go unpaid. The police representatives added that there are almost no tools to enforce the payment of these tickets.
Out of 52,000 traffic tickets issued in Judea and Samaria annually, 70% go to Palestinian violators. Eighty percent of these tickets go paid. Some vehicles accumulate 20 or 30 tickets, and Palestinians disregard them.
The police representative at the meeting added that there is no monitoring system to track whether Palestinians pay for their tickets. A senior official in the Judea and Samaria District described the situation: “The police are working at full throttle but going nowhere.”
Pushing back against the police’s claim, the head of transportation at the Civil Administration revealed that there is an order that allows for the confiscation of vehicles 120 days after a fine is issued. This regulation has been in place since the 1990s but has not been enforced.
The police representative responded by saying that vehicle seizure operations in Judea and Samaria are effective but limited in scope. This year, 1,800 Palestinian vehicles that committed life-threatening violations were confiscated, but due to a shortage of manpower, only a portion of the required operations can be carried out.
The Palestinian Authority
The police also said that they have a difficult time enforcing the tickets against Palestinian drivers as there is no civil jurisdiction over them. In the past, Israel offered the Palestinian Authority the opportunity to enforce the tickets and keep the money collected, to make the fines effective, but that was refused.
Sukkot said, “The police are expanding enforcement, but it is far from enough. Even after the police issue fines, there is almost no incentive for Palestinians to pay them. When the roads of Judea and Samaria become a breeding ground for traffic violators, it costs us lives. This is the fourth discussion I’ve held in my committee on this issue and I intend to lead more discussions until the desired change is achieved.”
The Ministry of Transport and Road Safety has also recognized the dangers in Judea and Samaria and has therefore decided to push forward with plans to expand Route 60, the primary north-south artery that runs throughout the entirety of Judea and Samaria and beyond.
“Expanding the roads in this area is not only a basic need but also an important step security-wise,” said Transport Minister Miri Regev.
“During the previous [government] period, the necessary steps of developing the roads were not taken here, and we are rectifying this,” Regev said. “The road from Jerusalem northwards will be expanded and doubled along its entire length; together, we are making history.”
Route 60 is currently being expanded from one lane to two in each direction from Jerusalem southward through all of Gush Etzion, and eventually to Hebron.
To the north, construction is underway to expand the road to two lanes in each direction from Jerusalem to Sha’ar Binyamin. Recently, a tender was issued to continue the expansion up to the British Police (HaMishtara HaBritit) Junction just north of Ofra. Plans are being developed to continue the expansion past Shiloh and Eli and then to the Tapuach Junction.
