TEL AVIV - The High Court of Justice rejected a petition filed by the Bethlehem and Beit Jallah municipalities Thursday to reroute the building of the security fence near Bethlehem.

The Court ruled the proposed route of the security fence, submitted by the IDF in response to an earlier petition, allows Jews access to Rachel's Tomb and does not infringe on Palestinian residents' freedom of movement.

The petition claims the IDF had not considered more fitting alternatives to accommodate Jewish worshippers without infringing on the rights of local residents. 

Last year the Bethlehem municipality, along with several other residents from the area, appealed to change the original route of the fence, which was set to cut through Palestinian homes and gardens.

In February 2003 the IDF issued a warrant to seize the strip of land in the Bethlehem area, authorizing the building of a detour road for Jewish worshippers visiting Rachel’s tomb.

The warrant also approved construction of a protective wall alongside the road.

The plan would have cut Bethlehem’s main road into two leaving one half for the access road to the tomb and the other half for residents. The warrant allowed confiscation of several areas in Bethlehem and Beit Jallah, and the protective walls would have enclosed an entire neighborhood.