Fence pushes deeper into West Bank

JERUSALEM - Israel is preparing to move a security fence, designed to separate Israelis and Palestinians, further into the West Bank.

About 40,000 more settlers and a further 3000 Palestinians would find themselves on the Israeli side of the barrier.

Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian negotiator, yesterday denounced the initiative as "flagrant defiance" of President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair, who have promised to present their "road map" to peace as soon as a new Palestinian Government is sworn in.

"Israel is telling the Americans and British to forget it," Erekat said. "They are saying they have their own road map, based on dictation, not negotiation. They are creating facts on the ground, which will take 40 per cent of the West Bank."

The proposed realignment, confirmed by Israeli officials, would bring the settlements of Immanuel and Ariel within the fence.

Palestinian gunmen and suicide bombers have attacked both settlements since the intifada broke out 2 1/2 years ago. They lie west of the main road between the Palestinian towns of Nablus and Ramallah.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is also planning a second fence dividing most of the West Bank from the Jewish settlements along the Jordan Valley to the east. When he presented this to his Cabinet last week, some ministers commented that it would leave the Palestinians precious little for their state.

Sharon spokesman Ra'anan Gissin said the fence was not a political border, but a barrier meant to protect Israeli citizens from attack.

He suggested that it could be moved if a peace agreement were reached.

- INDEPENDENT