WEST BANK Supreme court OKs new route

The ruling focused on a 25-mile section of the barrier.
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli army planners scrambled to reroute a key section of the West Bank separation barrier after the supreme court ruled that its original path violates international law and would cause too much hardship for thousands of Palestinians.
The landmark ruling meant more trouble for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for disengagement from the Palestinians, an ambitious proposal to complete the West Bank barrier and withdraw from the Gaza Strip by 2005.
The high court's Wednesday ruling focused on a 25-mile section of the barrier near Jerusalem that would have separated some 35,000 Palestinians from their farmland, schools and jobs. In all, the complex of fences, concrete walls, trenches and razor wire is to run 425 miles and is about one-fourth complete.
Government officials said the ruling would delay construction of the Jerusalem section by several months, and invite further appeals about other sections from barrier opponents. Those opponents could include Palestinians and Israeli moderates who believe a less disruptive route should have been chosen from the start.
Palestinians were jubilant. "We won't stop here," said Mohammed Dahla, a lawyer for the petitioners. "We will continue our legal struggle against this wall."
The route proposed by the army "injures the local inhabitants in a severe and acute way while violating their rights under humanitarian and international law," the court said, adding that it does not oppose the idea of a separation barrier itself.
Next ruling
On July 9, the world court in The Hague, Netherlands, is to issue an advisory ruling on the route of the barrier, at the Palestinians' request.
Senior army officials, meeting late Wednesday, said they would need two or three months to submit an alternative route for Cabinet approval. They said they will have to carry out new geological surveys and issue new land appropriation orders.
Sharon was to discuss the fallout from the ruling with his defense and justice ministers today. Israel TV's Channel Two said Sharon opposes proposals by some in his Likud Party to use legislation to get around the court ruling.
Israel says the barrier is crucial to keep out Palestinian attackers. Palestinians say the divider, which at times dips deep into the West Bank, amounts to a land grab.