But the government's intentions are suspect, say Palestinians. The new crossing will be used exclusively by tourists, Jewish settlers and VIPs. Palestinians will use a new parallel road complete with a 700-car parking lot and a 650-meter walkway, which the map labels a "Pedestrian Road" leading to a new "Pedestrian Terminal."

The implications of the Israeli plan have caused great concern in the Palestinian community. According to Palestinian Legislative Council member Salah Tamari, it is not a question of the map, but of Israeli intentions. He says that the plan will sever Bethlehem's natural geographical connection with Jerusalem and reduce the amount of available land in Bethlehem.

"The Israeli settlements cut us off from all directions," explains Tamari, pointing to a map of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "There is no room left for Bethlehem to grow naturally." According to estimates by the Arabic daily al-Ayyam, if the Jerusalem municipal boundary line were to shift as indicated by the map, an additional 4,500 dunums of land - roughly one-third of Bethlehem - would be confiscated.

Bethlehem's mayor, Hanna Nasser is visibly worried by the implications of the map. "The checkpoint is killing the economy in Bethlehem," says Nasser, "they are not here for security but for politically splitting the southern West Bank from the north. Under the disguise of fixing the road, they wish to re-define the Jerusalem border." Since 1967, he says, Israel has illegally confiscated 9,000 dunums of Bethlehem land.

Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs and head of the DCO, Dr. Jamil al-Tarifi told journalists that he suspended the entire Hebron Road restoration project last month until the Israeli government gives the Palestinian Authority written permission to renovate the road under its own plan. But, despite Tarifi's resolve, construction continues to bring the plan to life.

Several months ago, Palestinian entrepreneur Khalid Jurashi built a large parking lot in the vicinity of the Bethlehem entrance. This parking lot, seemingly far from the roadway, had no apparent clientele. Mayor Nasser says that Jurashi was not given a permit to operate the lot because Nasser was suspicious that the lot was part of an Israeli plan. According to the now-public map, it is clear that this parking lot will be used for those Palestinian cars that are not allowed access into Jerusalem.

Other recent construction includes a reinforcement wall around the existing Jerusalem checkpoint and work on the base of a diversion road to be used by Palestinians after they exit the new checkpoint. Palestinian surveyors say that with the present infrastructure the plan could become reality in less than a month.

Although the likelihood of an expanded checkpoint before Bethlehem is already raising concern among the Palestinian public, the flash point for Israeli plans will likely be Rachel's Tomb, also located on Hebron Road inside Bethlehem. Palestinian negotiators in Oslo talks guaranteed Israelis free access to Jewish holy sites, including necessary Israeli security provisions. Nevertheless, Rachel's Tomb, like Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, has become a hot spot between Israelis and Palestinians.

In 1996, when the Israeli government built a permanent security wall and guard towers around Rachel's Tomb, several Palestinians died in the ensuing clashes. In the past week, construction has begun again.

According to Palestinian surveyors, now the Israeli government is in the process of building a tunnel underneath Hebron Road in order to connect Rachel's Tomb with a guarded parking lot and military base on the other side. The underground tunnels would presumably be used to reinforce the Israeli outpost, which, according to the redefined Bethlehem boundaries, would be on the frontier of the new Jerusalem municipal border. Currently, Rachel's Tomb, the guarded parking lot, and the military outpost have seven guard towers. Those reinforcements are a sore spot because, according to the Oslo accords, the tomb (also know as the Mosque of Bilal) has been closed to Muslims.

The new plan and the current Israeli construction couldn't come at a more inopportune time for the Bethlehem 2000 Project, which continues to prepare for religious celebrations. Although Nasser says that he is willing to sacrifice revenue from the tourist industry in order to prevent the proposed plan from moving forward, the possible loss of tourism from a backed-up entranceway would be a serious blow to the Bethlehem economy. Bethlehem 2000 spokesperson Walid Tuqan refused to comment on the implications of the Israeli plans or the possibility of resulting clashes.

"The map is one of the most significant Israeli steps towards dividing the Palestinian population and land," said Hanan Ashrawi, Director of the Palestinian Center for Global Exchange and Democracy, "It is another attempt by the Israelis to put facts on the ground." Sources from the Palestinian Legislative Council indicate that if the Israeli construction does not stop, clashes are likely to follow.