Israel´s West Bank barrier to be re-routed

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Source: CCTV.com | 09-05-2007 10:28

The Israeli supreme court has ordered the Israeli government and military to re-route Israel's controversial West Bank barrier. Palestinian villagers say it disrupts their lives. The 680 kilometer barrier

was started by the Israeli government in 2002 and aims to stop Palestinian suicide bombers.

Villagers and activists in the Palestinian village of Bil'in gathered near the barrier to celebrate the court's decision.

Citing hardships facing Bil'in residents, Israel's Supreme Court ordered the Israeli government and military to ensure a section of the barrier set to cut through the village's farmland, should circumvent it.

The court says the current route risks causing significant harm to the villagers' quality of life.

An attorney, Michael Spard said, "The Israeli Supreme Court has accepted all of the arguments that Bil'in village has introduced. The court has accepted that the route of the wall that goes on the lands of the village of Bil'in was not decided according to security needs, but according to the desire to expand the illegal settlement of Modiin Elite."