High Court will stop separation fence, defense officials fear

Senior officials in the defense establishment are worried about the future of the separation fence, following Supreme Court President Aharon Barak's announcement that the court's ruling on petitions against the fence's route north of Jerusalem is due only at the end of the year.

The State Prosecutor's Office will hold a debate today to find ways to continue the fence's construction, especially south of Jerusalem and along the Judea plain, in a way that will not enable Palestinian and Israeli parties to submit further petitions to the High Court of Justice against the building of the fence.

Earlier this week the defense establishment postponed construction on the section south of Jerusalem to moshav Shomria. The construction was put off following objections from land owners in the area and others arguing they were harmed by the planned fence.

Petitions to the High Court of Justice focus on 40 kilometers of fence, mostly between north Jerusalem and Modi'in.

Undermine the argument

However, senior defense sources say that the state prosecutor and defense establishment fear the petitions might undermine the argument that the fence is essentially a security barrier.

"If the court does not see the fence as a security barrier, which protects life, it would be a major impediment to the project," a senior army officer said.

The Israel Defense Forces and Defense Ministry are planning to begin on the fence's fourth section, which will include Gush Etzion in Israeli territory, within the next month. However, they fear that as soon as the work begins, it will be halted by petitions to the High Court complaining of construction on Palestinian territory, the confiscat

ion of land and rupturing the fabric of life.

Under the threat of petitions and international pressure, Israel has already undertaken to take into consideration the Palestinian "fabric of life" when planning the fence.

For example, in every Palestinian area to be separated from the West Bank by the barrier, an underground road will be built linking the inlet to the Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz have decided to put off indefinitely the construction of inlets and fence sections in the depth of the West Bank.

Without the inlets, the fence's overall length is 557 km (instead of the estimated 737 km) and cost NIS 6 billion (instead of NIS 8 billion).