|
Israel approves security barrier west bank { October 1 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=3538425http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=3538425
Israel Approves Security Barrier Route in W.Bank
Wed October 1, 2003 07:08 AM ET
By Timothy Heritage
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's government approved the next stage of its vast security barrier in the West Bank on Wednesday, despite international criticism that it cuts deep into Palestinian territory and undermines peace moves.
Political sources said the cabinet had decided to press on with construction of what it calls a security fence to keep out suicide bombers, but that it had opted for now to leave a gap at one point under U.S. pressure.
Leaving the gap patrolled by troops delays a decision on whether the barrier will loop around the sprawling Jewish settlement of Ariel, 12 miles inside the West Bank.
Instead, the government approved the construction of a separate fence near Ariel which could later be joined up with the main barrier, the sources said.
"It kicks the problem down the road a little bit. Eventually they're going to have to decide whether they'll build the rest of the fence or not to fill the gap, and that will bring the problem back to the forefront," a Western diplomat said.
Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid said in a radio interview before the vote that the building work would be coordinated with the United States and that its sole intention was to protect Israelis from Palestinian suicide bombers.
Palestinians say the barrier is an obstacle to a peace "road map" backed by President Bush which outlines steps to end violence and establish a Palestinian state.
"It is a big land grab and not a security wall," said chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. "The continuation of the building of the wall will undermine President Bush's vision of the road map and the peace process."
U.S. CONCERNS
Israeli officials say the number of suicide bombings has fallen since work began on the barrier. But Washington says the barrier, an electronic sensor fence in most sections and a huge cement wall in others, runs counter to U.S. goals in the region.
The international community fears the barrier will create a de facto border that includes West Bank land which Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
"The time has come to condemn the wall as an unlawful act of annexation," South African law professor John Dugard said on Tuesday in a report compiled for the United Nations, saying it would cut off tens of thousands of Palestinians adrift.
The United States says it could reduce $9 billion worth of loan guarantees to Israel if the fence furthers settlement building and compounds obstacles to the road map.
Under the road map, Israel is supposed to halt building at the settlements but it says the Palestinians must first rein in militants spearheading a three-year-old uprising for statehood.
The first 90 miles of the barrier have been built, most of it close to the internationally recognized frontier. It is expected to reach 300 km (180 miles) by the end of this year.
Israel has about 150 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the independent Israeli watchdog Peace Now says there are about 230,000 settlers. Many will be cut off from Israel, which has drawn criticism from some settlers and right-wing Israelis.
The international community regards the settlements as illegal under international law but Israel disputes this.
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli soldiers captured a leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group in a raid at a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jenin, witnesses said.
The arrest of Sheikh Bassam Sa'adi prompted threats of new violence. An Islamic Jihad leader in the Gaza Strip vowed retaliation, telling Reuters: "The enemy will pay a dear price."
|
|
