Green Groups Say Road Will Kill Jerusalem Forest

Irrevocable damage would be caused to the Jerusalem Forest by a new road in the capital, say environmentalists.

The National Roads Company planning Route 16, which would connect the city’s Route 1 entrance with Jerusalem’s southwest neighborhoods, insists it would relieve the heavy traffic to and from the city with minimal damage to the forest.

The Jerusalem Forest still constitutes a green lung, but it has dwindled in recent years due to the encroachment of neighborhoods, roads and industrial buildings.

The Forum of Organizations for Jerusalem Forest and Adam Teva V’Din – the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, have submitted an objection to the Route 16 plan, saying its construction would disrupt the environmental balance, damage the landscape and turn the forest into a “local grove.”

The Interior Ministry’s national infrastructures committee, which began discussing the objections to Route 16 on Tuesday, is expected to approve the plan to build the road.

For more, go to Haaretz.com