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A Palestinian man peers over the concrete barrier near Jerusalem. (AP)
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| By Ellis Shuman December 24, 2003 |
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IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday that some 15,000 workers, among them Palestinians with work permits, would be employed during the coming year to build Israel's security fence. Security officials told Maariv that construction of the fence was being accelerated to "establish facts on the ground" ahead of the upcoming discussion of the fence at the International Court of Justice.
Ashkenazi said that some 40 contractors are to be hired for the project next year in 37 tenders to construct the next 332 kilometers (208 miles) of the fence. Construction teams will use some 1,700 bulldozers and other heavy vehicles, but no foreign workers will be employed, Ashkenazi said.
The estimated cost of the fence's construction is about 10 billion shekels ($2.29 billion), including the cost of 11 planned crossing points, Ashkenazi said. By the end of 2005, the security fence will stretch 728 kilometers (451 miles), and will reach the settlement of Carmel in the southern Hebron Hills, he said.
At present, only some 160 kilometers (99 miles) of the fence are operational, including a 146-kilometer-stretch from Kfar Kassem near Jenin to Elkana, an additional 10 kilometers in the Jerusalem area, and another 6 kilometers near Baka al-Garbiya. The Jerusalem area of the fence is to be completed in 2004.
At the Knesset committee meeting, MK Uri Ariel (National Union), who heads the Knesset Defense Budget Committee and who has single-handedly held up allocation of funding for the fence's construction according to media reports, criticized what he said are its "soaring costs." MK Ran Cohen (Meretz) said the fence had turned into a "monster," that has in effect annexed as many settlements as possible.
"Establish facts on the ground"
According to a report published today in Maariv, orders have been given to complete "as much of the fence as possible immediately" in order to "establish facts on the ground" ahead of the International Court of Justice sessions in The Hague, which will begin hearings on February 23.
Israel's political leadership wants to establish the fence's route quickly due to the expected mounting international pressure to halt its construction, the paper said.
The new policy is not marked by a change in the fence's route, which was determined by a cabinet decision in October, but rather by the launch of construction at many sites simultaneously. Until now, construction teams have completed the fence in segments.
By the end of 2004, the many sites on which work will soon begin will have been connected to establish a continuous barrier, which is due to be completed in its entirety by the end of 2005, Maariv reported. The fence currently being constructed does not include a barrier to the east, parallel to the Jordan Valley. In areas where the fence's route will follow the 1967 Green Line border, construction is not being accelerated, as construction there will not result in international criticism, the paper added.
The International Court of Justice, asked by the United Nations General Assembly to give its opinion on the legality of an Israeli-built security barrier in Palestinian territories, said it would begin hearings on February 23.
The court gave no estimate of how long the proceedings might last or when it might render its opinion. The court's decision, however, will be non-binding.
Yediot Aharonot reported on Sunday that Israel is worried about the panel of judges who will preside over the hearing since two of the current judges are Arabs who have in the past expressed anti-Israeli sentiments. Foreign and Justice Ministry officials met this week to discuss the possibility of asking the international court to add Israeli justices to its panel, the paper said.
"The fence has saved human lives"
At the recent Herzliya Conference, Shin Bet security service head Avi Dichter said, "The most important thing is building the fence, which has certainly saved human lives... The terrorists who had planned to target Yokneam were delayed and had to take a longer route because of the fence," Dichter said, referring to a thwarted suicide bombing that had targeted a high school.
"Financing for the fence must be raised by any means possible, whether through government funding, trusts and funds, or even through passing the collection box among citizens," he said.
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