‘Settlers on all sides’: West Bank bypass raises fears of Israeli annexation

A creeping Israeli presence is nothing new for the Bedouins who inhabit the arid hills east of Jerusalem, but a recently approved road in the area means the spectre of annexation now looms large.

Israeli authorities in March green lit the construction of a separate route for Palestinian vehicles to bypass a central stretch of the occupied West Bank –- one of the territory’s most disputed parcels of land.

Israel has promoted the project as a way to further facilitate settlement expansion in…