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PM Sharon and DM Mofaz reviewed proposals for the revised route of the security barrier, which took into account recent High Court rulings.
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| By Ellis Shuman September 9, 2004 |
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After reviewing proposals for the revised route of Israel's security barrier, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon instructed the defense establishment to include Maale Adumim, Ariel and Gush Etzion on the "Israeli side" of the fence, media sources reported. Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz yesterday reviewed the proposals, which took into account recent High Court of Justice rulings. In some areas the fence will closely following the 1967 Green Line border.
Yesterday, media sources reported that Sharon instructed the defense establishment not to make substantial changes to the fence's route without government approval. The revised route is due to come up for cabinet approval once all preparatory work is completed.
Sharon apparently gave defense planners specific instructions yesterday to include the major settlement blocs on the "Israeli side" of the barrier. Sharon and Mofaz have repeatedly promised to include Maale Adumim inside the fence. "Plan everything with Maale Adumim inside, and we'll decide later," Sharon reportedly said at the meeting, according to a Haaretz report.
According to Maariv, it has not yet been decided if certain Israeli communities near Maale Adumim, including Kfar Adumim and the Mishor Adumim industrial zone, will be included inside the fence's route. According to Maariv, in certain areas there will be a double fence, with one route following the Jerusalem municipal boundaries and a second fence constructed to enclose Maale Adumim.
In the Gush Etzion area, all Jewish settlements will be included within the fence's route, Sharon and Mofaz decided yesterday. But in the southern Hebron Hills, the fence will more closely follow the 1967 Green Line border, possibly leaving the communities of Carmel, Maon and Sussiya outside the fence.
In the Ariel area, the United States had objected to Israel's construction of "fingers" that reached deep into the West Bank to include Ariel, Immanuel, Kedumim and Karnei Shomron. At yesterday's meeting, Sharon reportedly said, "It's not yet clear how big the finger will be, but Ariel will remain in the fence."
According to Maariv, no decision was reached yesterday regarding the fate of Highway 443, which connects Modiin with northern Jerusalem. Security officials said, however, that there would be no resort but to leave part of the highway outside the fence and to construct special security barriers along its route to protect travelers from stone-throwing attacks, which have increased in recent months.
Security officials said that in yesterday's meeting, no decisions were reached regarding those sections of the fence's route which are considered "controversial" and are being held up due to petitions presented to the High Court of Justice, Maariv reported. These decisions will be reached at a later date, the paper said.
"The security fence is a national project," Mofaz reportedly said at yesterday's meeting. "We must speed up the legal procedures in order to get back to work as soon as possible."
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