More FAILURES for BUSH...and this IS with an ALLY!
Israelis to Extend Barrier Deeper Into West Bank
June 15, 2004
By GREG MYRE
JERUSALEM, June 14 - Israel is preparing to build new
segments of its separation barrier around Jewish
settlements that would mark the deepest penetration yet
into the West Bank, a move that drew sharp criticism from
Palestinians on Monday.
President Bush has called the fence's route a "problem,"
and American officials have raised objections in continuing
talks with the Israelis. But Israel has insisted that
Washington has not opposed the first phase of construction
around Ariel and nearby settlements that are more than 10
miles inside the West Bank.
The Israeli plan, approved by the government last fall,
calls for building a barrier around three sides of Ariel,
which is about 20 miles north of Jerusalem and is one of
the largest Jewish settlements, with close to 20,000
residents. This same building pattern would be carried out
around several other settlements in the same area.
After this work is completed, Israel would consult with the
United States about joining these sections together and
linking them with the main barrier, which runs closer to
the West Bank boundary, said Asaf Shariv, an adviser to
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"This is exactly what we agreed to with the Americans," he
said.
The American Embassy saw the situation somewhat
differently.
"We accept Israel's right to build a fence for security,
but when the route goes deep into the West Bank, it has
political dimensions, and we have concerns about that,"
said Paul Patin, an embassy spokesman. He declined to
comment specifically on the Israeli plan to build around
Ariel.
The Bush administration has said that it does not object to
the barrier in principle, but believes that it should be
on, or very close to, the borders Israel had before the
1967 war in which Israel captured the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip.
The Israeli plan to include Ariel inside the barrier is one
of the most controversial aspects of the entire project
because it would be the most far-reaching intrusion into
the West Bank.
"If the Israelis build the wall around Ariel, what is left
to negotiate?" said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian
negotiator. "I think Sharon is doing this now because he
realizes President Bush is in the middle of a tough
election campaign."
Israel has built about a quarter of the planned barrier,
which would eventually put about 15 percent of the West
Bank on the western or Israeli side, according to United
Nations calculations.
Israel says that the barrier is strictly a security
measure, intended to prevent Palestinian suicide bombings
and other attacks, and that it could be moved or torn down
at a later date. Palestinians denounce it as a land
confiscation that would greatly disrupt the lives of many
Palestinians and complicate efforts to establish a
Palestinian state.
The Israeli Defense Ministry, which is in charge of
constructing the barrier, has not broken ground in the area
around Ariel. But the ministry has informed Palestinian
residents in the area that it will be appropriating
Palestinian-owned land, according to the newspaper Haaretz.
Ron Nachman, the mayor of Ariel, confirmed that the project
was moving forward.
The initial phase of the building is to be completed by May
2005, Netzah Mashiah, a Defense Ministry official, told
Haaretz. Construction on the parts that would connect the
fence to the main West Bank barrier is tentatively planned
to begin next year, he told the newspaper.
Palestinians and Israelis opposed to the barrier have filed
many lawsuits in the past year that have slowed or
suspended work in several areas, particularly around
Jerusalem.
Any construction near Ariel is likely to be met with legal
challenges, said Marc Luria, spokesman for the Security
Fence for Israel, a group that supports the swift
construction of the barrier, regardless of the route. Mr.
Luria predicted that a new round of lawsuits would delay
building in the area for at least six months.
Mr. Sharon's government has approved in principle a plan to
evacuate all 7,500 Jewish settlers in Gaza by the end of
next year as part of a plan to unilaterally separate from
the Palestinians.
However, Mr. Sharon says he is also working to consolidate
Israel's hold over the much larger settlements in the West
Bank, where the Jewish population totals some 230,000.
The barrier's planned route would put most of the West Bank
settlers on the Israeli side of the fence. In most areas,
the barrier consists of an electronic fence accompanied by
razor wire, trenches and guard towers. Some sections
include concrete walls more than 20 feet high.
In another development on Monday, the Israeli military said
it had removed 42 of 150 roadblocks and other obstacles in
the West Bank. The move would ease Palestinian movements,
though Israel still has checkpoints throughout the West
Bank.
The Israeli Air Force killed two militants, including a
local leader of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Khalil Marshoud,
on Monday night in a missile strike on their car in the
West Bank city of Nablus, Reuters reported. The Israeli
military said the Aksa leader had been involved in numerous
attacks against Israeli targets.
Israel also said it had arrested an Arab courier, Husam
Nabolsi, 38, who was reportedly planning to plant a bomb
either in the prime minister's office or a Jerusalem
synagogue.
A statement issued by Mr. Sharon's office said Mr. Nabolsi,
a resident of East Jerusalem, worked for an Israeli company
and had permission to make deliveries to government
buildings, including the prime minister's office.
Mr. Nabolsi was arrested May 16, and under questioning said
he was planning to plant a bomb that could be detonated by
a cellphone, the statement said. His information helped
Israeli authorities track down a bomb hidden in Bir
Naballah, an Arab village north of Jerusalem, the statement
added.
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