Knesset rejects 3 bills to alter route of separation fence

The Knesset plenum Wednesday rejected three bills submitted by members of the opposition, on the route of the West Bank separation fence.

Also Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said it would halt construction on a separate fence around the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, on the outskirts of Hebron, Israel Radio reported.

The move is in line with a High Court decision, following an appeal from Palestinian landowners in the area.

The military had requested the appropriation of hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land in order to build a security zone and fence, following the infiltration of terrorists into the settlement in recent years. Representatives of the state agreed to halt work until a fresh hearing on the issue in three weeks' time.

The three bills submitted to the Knesset each suggested alternative routes to the one the fence currently follows. The bill proposed by Meretz MK Ran Cohen, which was rejected by a majority of 53-2 with 4 MKs abstaining, suggesting building the fence along the 1967 Green Line border.

Cohen accused the Sharon government of "security, financial and diplomatic crimes" for deciding to build 740 kilometers of fence, some 400 kilometers longer than the original Green Line. He said the current route of the fence is "anti-security, encourages additional acts of hatred and terrorism." He also accused the government of wasting NIS 4 billion on the fence.

The bill proposed by MK Danny Yatom (Labor) was rejected by 58-9 with 6 abstentions and a third bill by MK Matan Vilnai (Labor) was voted down by a majority of 57-23 with 3 abstentions. The two bills were very similar to Cohen's proposal.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many other ministers all attended the Knesset debate in order to vote against the proposals. Representatives from coalition partners Shinui, the National Religious Party and the National Union also voted against the bills.