JERUSALEM – The section of the West Bank security fence being built north of Jerusalem has political aims in addition to security objectives, the State Prosecutor told the Supreme Court in response to an anti-fence petition filed by Palestinian residents.
Security Barrier
Palestinian children protest against fence / By Ali Waked and Tal Rosner
Demonstration held in front of Supreme Court in Jerusalem to protest land expropriation in framework of security fence construction work
In court session Tuesday, a nine-judge panel looked into the fence route in three areas, namely northern Jerusalem, and the West Bank settlements of Ariel and Alfei Menashe.
Petitioners from the Palestinian village of a-Ram said Israel had no right to build the northern Jerusalem fence and said the construction project was violating international law and severely harming the lives of local citizens.
In its response to the petition, the State Prosecution stressed Israel, as the sovereign power, has the right to build the fence north of the capital, and noted the fence there has political aims in addition to the security considerations that led to the fence’s construction.
Chief Justice Aharon Barak accepted the State Prosecutor’s position and said Israel has the right to build the fence on its own sovereign territory. Therefore, he said, it does not matter whether the barrier is being erected there in light of political or security considerations.
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