The
revised route will mean that some 55,000 residents of east Jerusalem,
which was seized by Israel in 1967, will no longer be able to travel
freely throughout the city.
Around 230,000 Palestinians live in the city.
The
decision prompted a furious reaction from the Palestinians who accused
Israel of trying to impose a unilateral solution on the fate of
Jerusalem, which has long been one of the thorniest issues of the
Middle East conflict.
The new path will cut
through two Palestinian neighbourhoods as well as the Qalandiya refugee
camp on the eastern outskirts of the city.
But
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insisted that Jerusalem citizens who
found themselves outside the route of the barrier would not lose their
access to services to which they were entitled.
"They
will continue to be the beneficiaries of the social and municipal
services which they are entitled to as holders of residency cards,"
Olmert told public radio.
The minister, a former
mayor of Jerusalem, also said that "building work should be completed
in September" around east Jerusalem.
Court rulings
Construction has been slowed down in the Jerusalem
area following recent rulings by the Israeli supreme court that said
the fundamental rights of some civilians were being infringed upon by
the current plans.
The rulings forced the government to redraw parts of the route and implement extra access measures.
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"This is a very critical development which has the potential to destroy the entire peace process"
Saib Erakat,
Chief Palestinian negotiator |
The
chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said that the move had the
potential to destroy the already deeply troubled peace process as it
appeared that the Israelis were trying to impose their own solution on
the status of Jerusalem.
"This is a very critical
development which has the potential to destroy the entire peace
process," Erakat told journalists. "With this step, they are trying to
decide the fate of Jerusalem.
"We are urging the Bush administration to stop Israel dictating the situation and from imposing unilateral measures."
Wall is illegal
While the government has taken account of the supreme
court's rulings, it has ignored the non-binding judgement of the United
Nations' International Court of Justice.
The ICJ ruled that parts of the barrier which jut into the West Bank are illegal and should be torn down.
Palestinians
point to its route as proof of an intention to pre-empt the borders of
their promised future state, while Israel insists that it is a security
measure designed to prevent attacks on its soil.