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Israeli Court to Hear Case Over Barrier

Posted on: Monday, 9 February 2004, 06:00 CST

Israel said it will change the route of its disputed West Bank security barrier to ease hardships on Palestinians, ahead of cases before two courts challenging the legality of the project.

Israel's Supreme Court was to hear arguments on Monday from two human rights groups against the barrier - a complex of walls, trenches, fences, razor wire and electronic sensors. Its planned route dips into the West Bank and encircles several Palestinian towns and villages, cutting tens of thousands of Palestinians off from their farmland, schools and social services.

Later this month, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands hears a case referred by the U.N. General Assembly with the backing of the Palestinians.

Israel insists that the barrier is necessary to keep out Palestinian suicide bombers and other attackers who have killed hundreds during three years of violence. Palestinians say it is a land grab aimed at preventing them from creating a state.

Zalman Shoval, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said on Sunday that Israel would shorten the route of the barrier to relieve some of the pressure on the Palestinians.

Though Israel has presented a brief challenging the authority of the world court to deal with the issue, the government is concerned that the case could lead to the U.N. Security Council.

While the world court's opinion would not be binding, a Security Council resolution would have the force of law. Israel has ignored such resolutions in the past, but at the cost of world support.

The United States has a veto at the Security Council, and Shoval said a main Israeli goal is to come to agreement with the Americans over the barrier. "We want as much as possible to draw a line with the Americans," he said.

Paul Patin, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, declined to comment on the possible changes in the barrier's route.

He said the United States has no problem with the concept of a security barrier, but Washington objects to its planned route because of the disruption it has caused to Palestinians.

On Monday, the Israeli Supreme Court hears challenges to the fence from Israeli civil liberties groups, arguing that confiscation of Palestinian land, restrictions on movement and disruption of daily life constitute violations of human rights.

The Center for the Defense of the Individual is asking the court to order that the barrier be rerouted along the "Green Line," the boundary that existed before Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, the group's attorney, Avigdor Feldman, told The Associated Press.

The Supreme Court will also hear a petition from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, demanding that the army drop its demand that Palestinians trapped by the fence apply for permits to cross it.

The association says thousands of Palestinians are caught in a no-man's land, and some have been declared illegal residents in their own homes.

A U.N. report said the lives of as many as 400,000 Palestinians would be disrupted by the barrier.

Shoval said Qalqiliya, a West Bank town next to Israel, would benefit from the route changes. The town is largely encircled by the barrier.

Israel wants to "make things as easy as possible for Palestinians who need to get to their fields (and) to have fewer checkpoints," Shoval said.

He said changes would be made around other Palestinian population centers, as well, by taking down or moving concrete barriers that have already been built.

However, Palestinian Cabinet minister Jamal Shobaki said the Palestinian Authority will oppose the barrier if it infringes "even one centimeter" on lands Palestinians want for a future state.

"If they want to build a wall, they must do it on the Green Line," Shobaki said,

In Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said he expects a long-delayed summit with Sharon before the end of the month. The meeting would be a critical step to restarting peace talks, which have been stalled for months.

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