Meanwhile, the colonists and Palestinians are subject to two different sets of laws that discriminate against the Palestinians and entrap them in a legal system designed to legitimize the occupation and disenfranchise them from their land. Even though the Jewish colonists and Palestinians inhabit the same land, the colonists enjoy a quality life and access to natural resources that vastly exceeds that of the Palestinians. The situation thus created resembles an apartheid system. In addition to facilitating separation, the bypass roads are also used to secure territorial expansion. The roads are often built in such a way as to demarcate new de facto borders that will ensure the Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank in the case of a final settlement with the Palestinians.
Examples are numerous.
Here we find two bypass roads linking these colonies while simultaneously severing the connection of many Palestinian villages on either side. It is clear that all the land and villages south of the bypass road are in danger of being annexed to Israel. Even before such a border is officially recognized it functions as such due to the restrictions on Palestinian growth and movement caused by the roads and military checkpoints. The Israeli authorities are using the same strategies extensively in order to secure control over East Jerusalem and its environs. For example, south of Jerusalem bypass roads have been constructed around the Gush Etzion colony block, separating it from the heavily populated Palestinian area of Bethlehem.