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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| Israeli Court orders a reroute of WBank barrier | |
| 2008-12-16 | |
| The Israeli High Court rejected government plans on Monday to build a section of its barrier in the occupied West Bank, saying the proposed route encroached too much on Palestinian land. Palestinians welcomed the ruling, but negotiator Saeb Erekat said far more had to be done. "It just solves one problem. How many hundreds of other problems do we have in the West Bank?" he said. The High Court ordered the government to re-route part of the barrier near the West Bank village of Bilin to ensure that it was largely or entirely built on Israeli rather than Palestinian land. Israeli officials were not immediately available to comment. Israel says the barrier, made up of wire fence and concrete walls, is meant to keep out suicide bombers.
The barrier in Bilin cuts some 3 km (2 miles) into the village, separating some farmers from their fields. Bilin Mayor Ahmed Yasin had petitioned the court in 2005 to prevent the Israeli government from confiscating land from the village, which has become a flashpoint between anti-barrier protesters and Israeli troops. | |
| Posted by:Fred |