Israel Alters Border Barrier Route
Israel modified the route of its West Bank barrier Sunday, moving forward with interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s plan to quickly define the country’s borders.
The Israeli Cabinet voted to reroute an area near the settlement of Ariel deep in the West Bank and approved putting temporary fencing around areas of Jerusalem abutting the West Bank.
Palestinians said Israel was imposing its will over disputed land and trying to strengthen its claim to sovereignty over Jerusalem.
Israel began construction of the barrier four years ago, saying it needed it to keep suicide bombers out of the country. Olmert said the barrier would serve as the basis for Israel’s final border with the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War.
Olmert, whose Kadima party won March 28 elections, said he hoped to reach a settlement with the Palestinians but would move forward if he concluded there was no negotiating partner on the other side.
After last month’s swearing-in of the Hamas-led Palestinian government, unilateral Israeli action appears increasingly likely. Hamas, a militant Islamist group, refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist and refuses to renounce violence.
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