Sharon admits separation fence harms Palestinians

The government will examine already constructed portions of the separation fence for ways to reduce the burden they impose on nearby Palestinian villages, and will consider changing the route of portions that have not yet been built, according to the government's planned submission to the High Court of Justice in response to several petitions against the barrier.

At a meeting of the "kitchen cabinet" Sunday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said any discussion of changes in the fence's route "will happen, if it happens," because of second thoughts on the cabinet's part, not in response to demands by the Palestinians, the United Nations or the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

He added that the experience to date of the fence has been both "good and bad": It has been successful in preventing terror attacks, but "unsatisfactory in the harm it does to Palestinians' daily lives."

"It could be that additional thought is needed about the possibility of changing the route, which will reduce the costs of operating the fence without damaging security," he said.

Sharon also cited the "difficult opinion" on the subject submitted by acting Attorney General Edna Arbel, in which she said she would have trouble defending portions of the fence's route to the High Court.

Mofaz opposes any change in the fence's routeDefense Minister Shaul Mofaz, in contrast, opposes any change in the fence's route. "I am capable of defending every centimeter of the current route and showing why it is necessary to defend Israel's citizens," he told the meeting.

However, he added, he is aware of the humanitarian problems the fence has caused, and has decided to set up a special body within the defense establishment to deal with "all the humanitarian issues arising from the fence's construction."

Defense establishment sources said their impression is that Sharon, in response to the growing legal and political pressure, is considering purely tactical changes in the route, but is not considering a "strategic change," such as eliminating all the places where the fence intrudes into the West Bank and building it exclusively along Israel's pre-1967 border. The Prime Minister's Office said Sharon has not yet decided whether to make any changes, but is willing to consider the subject.

The meeting of the kitchen cabinet was called to discuss Israel's response to next month's ICJ hearing on the fence. It was attended, in addition to Sharon and Mofaz, by Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid and Minister in the Finance Ministry Meir Sheetrit, who was filling in for Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the meeting, a disagreement erupted between Lapid, on one hand, and Shalom and Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, on the other. Lapid proposed that Israel present a detailed argument in favor of the fence to the ICJ, arguing that the court hearing will be "a battle for international public opinion," and therefore Israel must make its case plain. "People will be making arguments against us, and what we don't say [in response] will not be said," he stated.

He also called for changing the fence's route in order to strengthen Israel's case.

But Shalom and Weisglass backed the legal professionals, who argued that Israel should focus on denying the court's authority to hear the case, and weave its arguments in favor of the fence into this procedural argument.

A senior government source said Israel has already decided to submit its arguments both in writing and orally; a proposal that Israel not attend the hearing has been rejected. The dispute now is over the content of Israel's arguments - but a decision on that dispute was postponed Sunday, and will be made only at a later meeting.

Meanwhile, Sharon Sunday lambasted ministers at the full cabinet meeting for speaking out about the separation fence, charging that such comments have done severe harm to Israel's case.

Though he mentioned no one by name, the prime minister's comments were widely perceived as being aimed primarily at Lapid, who has publicly denounced the current route of the fence and demanded that it be made some 200 kilometers shorter.

"I've asked that there be less talk about the fence, but it doesn't help," Sharon complained. "People see microphones and they immediately rush to talk ... This prevents consultations, because nothing remains secret. It causes damage and embroils us in unnecessary fights.

	The wall going up in Abu Dis last week, seen from the Palestinian side. (Lior Mizrahi/BauBau )
	Photo by: Lior Mizrahi/BauBau