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Israeli supreme court hears anti fence petition { February 9 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1-995259,00.htmlhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1-995259,00.html
February 09, 2004
Israeli Supreme Court hears anti-fence petition
BY FOREIGN WIRES
The Israeli Supreme Court is hearing appeals against the building of the “security fence” dividing Israeli and Palestinian territories.
Two civil rights groups have appealed to the court to stop its construction inside the West Bank, land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War and sought by the Palestinians for their independent state.
Palestinians call the barrier a land grab and supported by the UN General Assembly, have appealed to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where a hearing opens on February 23.
Israel insists that the barrier is necessary to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers, who have killed hundreds during three years of violence.
The human rights groups, Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Centre for the Defence of the Individual, argue that any construction on occupied land is illegal and that the barrier violates human rights by disrupting lives of thousands of Palestinians.
"We accept the right of the state to surround itself with barbed wire if it wishes, but only on its own territory," said Michael Sfarad, a lawyer for the Centre for the Defence of the Individual.
The Israeli Government has already signalled its willingness to shorten the fence.
An aide to Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, said yesterday that a proposal to not loop around Israeli settlements in the West Bank will be presented to the Bush Administration later this week.
The Palestinian Authority said today that it is considering declaring an independent state if Israel tries to impose the fence on the Palestinians. The state would include the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, Minister of Information and Culture, said that the proposal was raised at a meeting of Palestinian leaders over the weekend.
So far, the Palestinians have resisted unilaterally declaring a state of their home because of pressure from the Americans.
Zalman Shoval, an aide to Mr Sharon, said that Israel could react by annexing disputed land if the Palestinians declare a state unilaterally.
The Palestinians say that if Israel wants a barrier, it should be built on territory that Israel held before seizing the West Bank in the 1967 war.
The route of the barrier, which is about one-quarter built, dips into the West Bank and encircles several Palestinian towns and villages. It has cut tens of thousands of Palestinians off from farmland, schools and social services.
Giora Eiland, the head of the National Security Council, has admitted that Israel failed to forecast how much the barrier would disrupt Palestinians’ daily lives and said the route must be changed.
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