Lapid to present alternative plan for security fence route

Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, the Shinui chairman, will present his party's planned route for the West Bank separation fence to the inner cabinet on Monday. The plan is for a fence 200 kilometers shorter than the 700-kilometer fence the cabinet has approved.

Lapid will ask his colleagues for another discussion on the route of the fence, and will show them a detailed map, drawn with the help of legal and security experts.

Lapid will tell the other members of the inner cabinet that the shortened version of the fence would significantly help Israel's position when the International Court of Justice at The Hague discusses the fence next month. "With the current route of the fence, and without the support of the Americans, we will not be able to survive the Hague ruling," said Lapid.

Missing from Lapid's map are several enclaves deep into the eastern side of the Green Line, close to Ben-Gurion International Airport. Also missing are the rings around the Jerusalem envelope, which surround Arab villages, leaving them just one exit road.

"My map may be a less security-oriented map than the current one," Lapid said, "but it still serves Israel's defense interests and reduces human suffering. The other advantages are that the fence can be complete much quicker, saving NIS 2 billion."

The current route of the fence, which was approved by the cabinet, was also backed by Lapid's Shinui party. According to Lapid, however, he and his fellow Shinui ministers were not entirely convinced about the route, and decided to vote in favor only to avoid being the dissenting voice in the cabinet.

International criticism The international criticism that the invasive route of the fence has stirred up, led Lapid to harshly criticize it at a cabinet meeting two weeks ago. "The debate on the issue of the construction of the separation fence at the International Court of Justice in The Hague is the first step toward turning Israel into the South Africa of today," he told his colleagues. "There is a danger we will be exposed to international boycotts as was South Africa before the fall of the regime."

Speaking on Thursday to Haaretz, Lapid said he had studied the issue of the fence thoroughly, has pored over maps and read all the relevant documentation, as well as consulting dozens of experts, including senior officials from the Justice Ministry, judges, experts in international law, Knesset members and ministers.

His categorical conclusion, he said, was that the route of the map urgently needs to be altered. Lapid said Israel should argue that the court in The Hague does not have the authority to discuss the subject. If that argument is rejected, Israel should argue the merits of the case.

"If we claim that the fence is defensive in nature, and that it has been proved to prevent suicide bombings, that is something we can explain to the world. In order to argue the merits, we have to change the route of the fence, because, at the moment, it has the appearance of a fence of occupation."

Any change in the route of the fence would need to be approved by the government, and Lapid believes his proposal will stir up fierce debate. Lapid thinks other ministers are likely to support the proposed change to the route, as well as his Shinui colleagues. He has not yet shown his plan to the forum of Shinui ministers and will do so after the meeting of the inner cabinet.

Afraid of LikudLapid said he does not believe there are any ministers who don't understand the rationale behind his proposal, but "the question is how many of them are more afraid of the Likud central committee."

Health Minister Danny Naveh has already said that he objects to any alteration to the route. At the same cabinet meeting that Lapid proposed changing the route of the map two weeks ago, Naveh said the proposal was dangerous and just raising the issue for discussion was playing into the hands of Israel's enemies who were behind the hearing in The Hague.

Lapid will stress the economic aspects of his proposal, which, he says, cannot be rejected out of hand. "The current estimate is that the fence will cost NIS 7 billion, and that means we don't have enough money to finish it."