PM: Ariel to be included in fence, despite U.S. opposi

[kramadas]

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/345173.html

Last Update: 29/09/2003 21:40

PM: Ariel to be included in fence, despite U.S. opposition

By Zvi Zrahiya, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press

The fence separating Israel and the West Bank will

be built east of the settlement of Ariel, despite

opposition by the Bush administration to the

route, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced

during a meeting of Likud faction Monday.

The United States has repeatedly

expressed concern that the

fence will cut into Palestinian

land, and pressure from the

White House recently led to the

government putting off any

decision on the route around

Ariel, which is located deep in

the West Bank.

Washington has also hinted that it may reduce

its $9 billion in loan guarantees by the amount

required to build the fence around certain West

Bank settlements.

Sharon said that the Likud faction would vote

Tuesday on the decision to include Ariel within

the boundaries of the fence.

"The separation fence will be built east of

Ariel and east of [the settlement of] Kedumim.

If we reach a certain point when the issue

again arouses differences, we will again meet

and sit with the Americans," Sharon said.

During the meeting, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz

repeated his previously stated position that

the fence must be built east of Ariel and

Kedumim.

"The fence's route will encompass 40,000

Israelis and 4,000 Palestinians," Mofaz said.

He added that an agreement was reached with the

Americans allowing the commencement of

construction work on the fence starting in the

east and continuing in a westerly direction.

Likud whip MK Gideon Sa'ar called on Sharon to

consider the positions of party members who

explicitly called for the building of the fence

east of Ariel.

Deal reached on route of fence through Al-Quds

University

The Defense Ministry agreed Monday to change the

route of the separation fence just east of

Jerusalem, to reduce damage to the campus of a

Palestinian university, Palestinian and Israeli

officials said.

After weeks of intense U.S. and grass-roots

pressure to alter the route of the planned

barrier, Amos Yaron, director-general of the

Defense Ministry, and Al-Quds University

president Sari Nusseibeh reached agreement on a

new plan Monday.

Palestinians object to the barrier in principle,

and the United States has threatened to punish

Israel if the barrier cuts into the West Bank.

Israel counters that it is necessary to protect

its citizens from Palestinian suicide bombers.

Hundreds of Israelis have been killed by

bombers and other attackers infiltrating from

the West Bank during three years of violence.

Israel has already completed about 150

kilometers of the planned barrier - a system of

fences, trenches, razor wire and concrete

walls.

"An understanding was reached that will provide

for the construction of the security fence in

the area of Al-Quds University," the Defense

Ministry said in a statement.

In some areas along its route, the barrier runs

through Palestinian land, leading to

state-sanctioned land confiscation. In other

places, the barrier isolates Palestinians from

nearby villages and towns.

In Abu Dis, which is part of East Jerusalem, the

barrier was originally supposed to run straight

through the campus of Al-Quds University,

swallowing up 62 dunams (15 acres) of property,

including the soccer field, the basketball

court and a large part of the parking lot, said

Dimitri Diliani, Nusseibeh's spokesman.

However, the two sides agreed at Monday's

meeting to alter the route to bypass the

university's athletic fields and parking lot

and keep it away from student services'

buildings, Diliani said.

Diliani attributes the Defense Ministry's

willingness to compromise to the peaceful

protests held at the university during the past

month, as well as U.S. opposition.

The new route for the barrier still runs through

the university, but it is not yet known how

much property will be taken for its

construction, Diliani said. The university

expects to get a final answer by the end of the

week, he added.

"Even though the University is pleased with the

results of this meeting, it remains opposed to

the building of the 'apartheid wall' because

our motto for the protest campaign... is to

build bridges, not walls," Diliani said.