Last update - 00:00 05/04/2007
Ariel Mayor: Peretz wants town outside fence to gain voters
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Mayor of Ariel Ron Nahman accused Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Wednesday of endangering tens of thousands of citizens living in the settlement for the sake of political spin prior to the Labor Party primaries.
Nahman was responding to a Haaretz report of a Defense Ministry proposal to leave Ariel outside the perimeter of the separation fence.
"Defense Minister Peretz, whose days in office are numbered, is carrying out a political spin and tries to attract voters by endangering tens of thousands of Israeli citizens living in Ariel," Nahman said.
According to the report, the Defense Ministry is exploring the possibility of placing a hold, for the long term, on the construction program of the separation fence in the salients, shaped by settlements between Elkana and Beit Aryeh.
This would include the building of a new fence around each settlement, including Ariel, rather than continuing construction on a contiguous fence.
The route of the fence along the salients, which diverges significantly from the Green Line, was first approved by the government in October 2003.
In February 2005 changes were made in the route of the fence following a ruling of the High Court of Justice in the case of Beit Surik. This ruling redefined the legal parameters applicable to the route of the fence.
In April 2006, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert authorized further changes when he stated that the fence would include only two salients - one from Beit Aryeh to Ariel, and the other from Alfei Menashe to Kedumim.
In practice, nearly nothing has been done to build a fence in the area of the salients, and the 6-kilometer gap remains open, making the area difficult to secure.