Changes to route of the West Bank separation fence at the behest of the High Court of Justice have cost the state roughly NIS 700 million, and could reach as high as NIS one billion in the near future.

The High Court, acting in response to petitions by Palestinians and human rights groups, ordered the changes in large part in order to ease the burden imposed by the fence on Palestinian residents of the West Bank.

The changes required the Defense Ministry to dismantle and rebuild dozens of kilometers of chain-link fence and concrete wall.

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In many cases, the court based its ruling on opinions offered by the Council for Peace and Security, which was accorded the status of ?amici curiae?, a ?Friend of the Court?.

Sources in the council said they expect that in the near future the High Court will order the relocation of an additional 8-11 kilometers of the fence.

According to the Defense Ministry, the construction of each kilometer of the fence costs roughly NIS 11 million. This must be added to the costs of dismantling the existing fence, compensating the Palestinian residents for any damage to property or crops, as well as court costs and the cost of planning an alternate route.

Including the alterations expected to be ordered in the near future, the total cost of changing the fence's route will reach roughly NIS 900 million - which is more than half of the NIS 1.9 billion Defense Minister Amir Peretz is requesting be added to the defense budget.

Should the court go further and decide to alter the fence's "fingers" into the West Bank, in the area of Ariel and Kedumim, the cost would reach NIS one billion.

It should be noted that there was no final Defense Ministry confirmation for these cost estimates.