On 10 June 2008, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice to order army officials to remove the northern Dead Sea checkpoint and allow West Bank Palestinians access to the northern section of the Dead Sea, which is part of the West Bank.

The Dead Sea is a renowned, unique nature site and an extremely popular vacation spot. Contrary to popular belief in Israel, the northwestern part of the Dead Sea lies in the West Bank.  Until the beginning of the second intifada, the northwestern Dead Sea area was the almost sole recreation spot for West Bank Palestinians, and many came to the area on weekends and during vacations. The Ein Fascha nature reserve was one of their most popular destinations.

Almog/Beit Ha’arava Checkpoint. The photo, taken on 8 June 2008, a few days after the army announced it had removed the checkpoint, shows a Palestinian vehicle stopped on the road while Israeli vehicles pass through the checkpoint. Photo: Firas ‘Alami, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

Over the years, Israel established several settlements and resorts in the area and began treating it as Israeli territory, thereby severing it from the rest of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley.

Despite this policy, Palestinians were still allowed entry into the area. In March 2007, the army began to operate flying checkpoints in the area of the Beit Ha’arava junction, and prohibited entry to West Bank Palestinians, except those who had permits or worked in the nearby settlements.  These checkpoints were primarily operated on weekends, when Israeli traffic to the vacation spots was heavier. In May 2007, the Beit Ha’arava checkpoint was made permanent. Since then, the army has also denied crossing to Palestinians holding permits to enter Israel. The prohibition on entry to the northern Dead Sea is not enshrined in any military order or written directive of any kind.

The manager of the Ein Fascha reserve told B'Tselem that the army sometimes instructs him to deny entry to Palestinians, except those who have permits to enter Israel. Holders of the permits are required to show their permit at the entrance to the site. Reserve-duty officers who served in the area in May 2007 told ACRI that the brigade commander had told them the checkpoint was established because of the “harm to the income of Jewish communities on the shores of the Dead Sea when Palestinians visit the beaches.” During the meeting with the brigade commander, one of the officers contended that the command given them, and the checkpoint itself, were illegal. Despite this objection, and complaints by other officers and soldiers in the battalion, the checkpoint and the orders remained in force.

On 3 June 2008, the IDF Spokesperson stated that the Beit Ha’arava checkpoint had been removed some time earlier following understandings reached between the political echelon and the office of Tony Blair, the emissary on behalf of the Quartet. However, B'Tselem’s check indicated that the checkpoint remains in operation, primarily on weekends, when many Israelis go to the Dead Sea beaches.

In its petition, ACRI contended that “by these acts, the IDF is stealing from residents of occupied territory the only strip of coastline  in the occupied territory, making it available only to Israelis, and for the economic profit of the settlements in the area. The illegality, in which the army is involved, is shocking – it is a clear case in which security considerations are nonexistent, and are raised retroactively, as a guise for accomplishing other, extraneous and improper, purposes. Furthermore, this case involves prohibitions on movement and prevention of entry to public places in the occupied territory that are discriminatory and characteristic of colonialist regimes.”