The High Court of Justice will begin discussing Wednesday 12 petitions opposed to the proposed route for the security fence in the West Bank. Among others, the judges will discuss the fence route in areas of Gush Etzion, where the regional council requests to distance the route from the houses of area residents, while humans rights groups ask to bring it closer in order to lessen the burden on Palestinians.
Likewise, they will discuss the route in the protest-peppered area near Bilin, in the Alfei Menashe area, near Kfar Dir Qadis, in the towns of Jius and Palamia northeast of Qalqilya, and in four Palestinian towns south of Tul Karem. An additional petition deals, in general, with the creation of crossings in "the separation fence."
The Alfei Menashe local council is petitioning against the alternative fence route in the district. The petition serves as a counter to a civil liberties association, which represents five Palestinian towns in this district.
Ongoing debates
In September of 2005, the High Court ruled in favor of the association's petition to take down parts of the fence that trapped five Palestinian towns on the Israeli side of the fence, thus separating them from the rest of the West Bank.
Pursuant to this ruling, the IDF prepared two alternative routes for the fence. The civil liberties association claims that both alternatives are problematic and negatively affect the livelihood of the town and its residents. That having been said, the association rejected out of hand the second of the two alternatives, because it separates the Palestinian towns from all villages outside of Qalqilya and the Alfi Menashe area.
Following consultation with relevant sources, including the Alfi Menashe local council, the first alternative was chosen and, a month ago, a decree was issued for its implementation. Prior to the decree's formal issue, the Alfi Menashe local council had already extended a petition against the government, demanding they reject the first route option and, instead, implement the second route option.
In the case of the Kfar Dir Kadis area, the High Court will discuss a petition by a civil liberties association from March 2004 in representation of the Palestinian village and the counter-petition of residents of Modein Ellit and of real estate companies.
The civil liberties association's petition brings to light the question of whether it is acceptable to harm the rights of Palestinian residents in order to protect future building options for settlements.