May 01, 2006

B'tselem on rerouting the wall

The Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'tselem, has a report on the rerouting of the wall:
On 30 April the government approved a series of alterations to the route of the separation barrier. In accordance with the newly approved route, the barrier will form two enclaves instead of one in the area of the Ariel-Kdumim settlements, thus allowing a number of Palestinian villages to remain under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Responsibility for security in the barrier gateways in the Jerusalem area will be transferred from the army to the police.

Even in its new, amended, route, the barrier in the Ariel-Kdumim area will severely infringe upon the human rights of thousands of Palestinians who live nearby, only to allow for the annexation of 15 Jewish settlements as well as huge swaths of land for their future expansion. In the announcement it published this morning, following the government decision, B'tselem emphasized that "a route which penetrates deep into the West Bank, a distance of 22 km from the green line, is not a security route, but a blatantly political route, which fails to realize the promise of security, and infringes upon human rights."
I wonder how B'tselem would respond if the human rights issue still stood but Israel's security was enhanced.

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