During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Yisrael Gantz, the chairman of the Binyamin Regional Council, called the new road “an lifeline for the residents of Binyamin,” thus disclosing a bitter truth about the settlements: They have no raison d’etre without a strong, constant connection to the State of Israel. The new road won’t whitewash the settlements and it won’t make the Palestinians disappear, it will only add another stain to Israel’s reputation.