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Palestinian youth throwing stones at IDF soldiers near the separation fence in Bil'in. (Jini / Archives)
Last update - 00:00 28/07/2008
Israel agrees to raze part of West Bank separation fence
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Bil'in, Israel 

After a five-year battle, the defense establishment has finally given in: It agreed to dismantle a 2.4-kilometer stretch of the separation fence north of Qalqilyah. The move will return 2,600 dunams of agricultural land to its Palestinian owners.

The dismantled stretch will be replaced by 4.9 kilometers of fencing closer to the Green Line, at a cost of more than NIS 50 million. The new route largely follows the one proposed years ago by the Council for Peace and Security.

The change apparently stemmed in part from the views of new Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who believes the government, not the IDF, should determine the precise route of the fence.
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The fence in this area was built in 2003, and residents of several nearby Palestinian villages promptly petitioned the High Court of Justice against it. They won several legal victories over the years: The court ordered the fence be moved closer to the Green Line around Bil'in, Alfei Menashe and Tzufin.

In the latter ruling, issued in 2006, the court lambasted the state for having concealed the fact that the original route of the fence, east of Tzufin, was dictated not by security considerations, but by the settlement's expansion plans. In the Bil'in ruling in 2007, the court reiterated that the fence's route must be dictated by security, not a settlement's expansion plans.

Despite these precedents, however, the defense establishment initially refused to change the route north of Tzufin. Later, the state agreed to move the fence closer to the Green Line, but not all the way, which would return 1,500 out of 3,000 dunams of land confiscated from local Palestinians. It explained this offer by saying that the original route had passed four kilometers east of the settlements Kochav Yair and Tzur Yigal - far more than needed to keep them out of the range of gunmen on the other side of the fence.

In 2006, the Council for Peace and Security filed an amicus curiae brief in which it argued that a route very near the Green Line would satisfy the demands of security. In June 2007, however, the defense establishment told the court that it viewed this alternative as "inferior in terms of security." IDF representatives also took this line in meetings with then-defense minister Amir Peretz.

But Ashkenazi, who was appointed in February 2007, was outraged when he later discovered that the real reason for the original route was not security needs, but rather plans to set up a new neighborhood north of Tzufin. He told Peretz at the time that he no longer wanted IDF officers defending the fence's route in court. The route is a political issue, he argued, and therefore, it must be determined by the government.

The IDF, he continued, will defend nearby settlements given whatever route the government decides on.

Since then, the IDF has been much less involved in determining the fence's route. Nevertheless, more than a year passed before the defense establishment finished replanning the route north of Tzufin - and only last month did the state finally inform the High Court of this decision.

In its announcement, which the Council for Peace and Security received only a few days ago, the state claimed that the new route - which is almost identical to that originally proposed by the council - "provides a reasonable security solution to the various threats." It attributed its change of heart to the Bil'in ruling, which forbade the route from being based on planned settlement expansions.

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      1.   A constantly capitulating government 03:14  |  David 28/07/08
      2.   Progress 03:44  |  Solidarity with Pale 28/07/08
      3.   Finally good news 03:48  |  Northern 28/07/08
      4.   #2 proves our point 04:56  |  Gili 28/07/08
      5.   It`s a start! 05:23  |  Jim 28/07/08
      6.   2,600 dumans extra for Westbank Qassams` to come 05:39  |  david 28/07/08
      7.   #2 05:49  |  Jeff 28/07/08
      8.   good show! 06:31  |  Space 28/07/08
      9.   # 4 Gili 06:39  |  Libnanee 28/07/08
      10.   A Reward for our enemies within and without 07:11  |  Rachel 28/07/08
      11.   The Route of the Serpantine Fence 07:17  |  Tzfonit 28/07/08
      12.   # 1 & 4 07:19  |  Michael 28/07/08
      13.   Well done 07:32  |  Natallie Durson 28/07/08
      14.   Cheers Bil`lin people! 07:34  |  Niva dos Santos 28/07/08
      15.   About time! But I will believe when it actually happens 07:45  |  Kim 28/07/08
      16.   Mazel Tov 08:08  |  Gary 28/07/08
      17.   Why 5 years? 08:08  |  A mother 28/07/08
      18.   CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!! 08:16  |  :OOOOOOO 28/07/08
      19.   Start Today to tear it down 08:33  |  English Resident 28/07/08
      20.   Let this be a wise precedent... 08:41  |  Esther 28/07/08
      21.   Actually David, there is still 400 dunams stolen... - 3rd try 08:48  |  BBSNews 28/07/08
      22.   Bil`in heroism was not in vain... 08:53  |  Esther 28/07/08
      23.   grow some green for us there, people of bilin! 08:58  |  michelle 28/07/08
      24.   dear solidarity with pale & natallie durson, 09:04  |  michelle 28/07/08
      25.   The whole fence is illegal 09:06  |  Marilyn 28/07/08
      26.   I hope Gabi Ashkenazi stays when Olmert goes! 09:07  |  redmike 28/07/08
      27.   excellent decision! obviously gabi ashkenazi is a LEADER! 09:07  |  eric 28/07/08
      28.   Without Bias 09:08  |  Shmuel 28/07/08
      29.   #2 - only 4% is a wall - please say fence .. 09:12  |  redmike 28/07/08
      30.   Haaret`z`s emphasis `Israel agrees` 09:19  |  x-ray 28/07/08
      31.   Not there yet, Tzfonit 09:21  |  sh 28/07/08
      32.   Amicus Curiae and the Courts 09:25  |  Fairman 28/07/08
      33.   solidarity with pale, look at natallie & english resident`s remar 09:25  |  michelle 28/07/08
      34.   Cheeres to the Israel Defence Force Chief of Staff 09:26  |  Meir Gush Etzion 28/07/08
      35.   # 1 to david re: capitulation 09:28  |  eric 28/07/08
      36.   David and Goliath 09:33  |  Clickfool 28/07/08
      37.   "At cost of NIS 50m..." 09:36  |  Esther 28/07/08
      38.   That`s not in Billin, that`s about Jayus 09:38  |  Ivan 28/07/08
      39.   Perhaps there is hope 09:40  |  David 28/07/08
      40.   Wise decision 09:59  |  MarkC 28/07/08
      41.   you just dont get it, you will have to move back.. 10:07  |  back 28/07/08
      42.   WHAT A JOKE 10:21  |  indrajaya 28/07/08
      43.   Kudos to Ashkenazi 10:33  |  Johnboy 28/07/08
      44.   Only full retreat to the Green Line will solve Israel`s problem 10:34  |  Ivar 28/07/08
      45.   Well done 10:49  |  Stella Westwell 28/07/08
      46.   the wall is illegal 11:09  |  raymond deane 28/07/08
      47.   #4 Not a question of "giving" 11:15  |  Outsider 28/07/08
      48.   Raze Bil`in! 11:25  |  Dani 28/07/08
      49.   # 23 in case you haven`t noticed stella, regarding condi 11:36  |  eric 28/07/08
      50.   excellent decision! obviously gabi ashkenazi is a LEADER! (2nd t 11:38  |  eric 28/07/08
      51.   Let`s hope it actually happens 11:53  |  Sylvie 28/07/08
      52.   Putch by the leader of the inept Israeli military 12:09  |  Absolute Sweden 28/07/08
      53.   next stop ne`ilin! 12:51  |  modiinmama 28/07/08
      54.   Tzfonit: you`ve got it upside down on Ashkenazi - 12:53  |  ivo 28/07/08
      55.   Build the wall 12:55  |  Guy From NYC 28/07/08
      56.   what will they plant? 13:06  |  peter 28/07/08
      57.   ACCOUNTABILITY.....???? 13:06  |  Robert 28/07/08
      58.   #46raymonde the international lawyer NOT 13:20  |  victor hardman 28/07/08
      59.   Good to hear that inhaling all that tear gas has not been in vain 13:23  |  Ben Alofs 28/07/08
      60.   There are other countries ... 13:32  |  Murray 28/07/08
      61.   ENTIRE CONFLICT EXPLAINED IN LESS THAN 20 LINES 13:44  |  G Marcus 28/07/08
      62.   SANTOS Now you are going to give the Indians your house 13:44  |  PETER SM 28/07/08
      63.   ALOFFS"the peaceful grassroots campaign of Palestinian"?? A real 13:47  |  PETER SM