Hundreds of villagers protested Wednesday against the first day of building work on Israel's West Bank barrier around the major settlement of Ariel, vowing to fight tooth and nail against the destruction of their land.
Four Israeli bulldozers went briefly into action in the early morning, levelling land and razing a number of olive trees in the village of Iskaka, before retreating back into Ariel after protesters hurled stones.
The start of work around Ariel, which lies some 20 kilometres (12 miles) inside the West Bank, comes despite Washington's longstanding objections to the controversial barrier, which were reiterated Tuesday.
"The bulldozers were already at work when we arrived here at 9:30 am (0630 GMT) but they left 30 minutes later after villagers protested their presence and children threw stones at them," Iskaka mayor Samir Hariss told AFP as he surveyed the uprooted olive trees.
"Soldiers fired tear gas canisters and shot in the air. It seems they did not want the situation to degenerate because Ariel is a sensitive area, because (US President George W.) Bush is opposed to the wall here, not because they care about us."
Israel says its barrier - a mix of concrete, razor wire and electric fencing - is essential to protect it from suicide bombers. Palestinians say that its route shows the Israelis' real intent is to seize their land.
The decision to build around Ariel is particularly contentious as it is situated so far within the West Bank.
Some 16,000 people live in Ariel, one of the largest of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Tuesday US officials had recently discussed the matter with Israeli counterparts after reports that preparatory work to bring Ariel into the barrier had begun.
"The fence is a problem to the extent that it prejudges final borders, that it confiscates Palestinian property, or that it imposes further hardship on the Palestinian people," he told reporters. For Iskaka resident Lamia Hussein, 36, the villagers had to do everything within their power to halt the project.
"We have to demonstrate, all of us - men, women and children. There is no other choice. What do we have to lose, most of our men who worked in Israel are now unemployed, now they want to take our fields?" she said.
Israeli authorities began handing out land appropriation orders in and around the nearby Palestinian town of Salfit a couple of weeks ago.
The town's mayor, Shaher Eshtieh, said a petition against the barrier had been filed with the Israeli high court, arguing that the construction was precluding the creation of a Palestinian state, the aim of the US-backed roadmap peace plan.
"I do believe we stand a chance to see the route of the wall change because Bush is against it and because we have such a strong case," he told AFP.
"In the Salfit area (Salfit and 19 other villages) 170,000 dunum (17,000 hectares or 42,000 acres) of land will be taken in by Israel when the wall is completed.
"That will deal a final blow to our economy. After losing our jobs in Israel, we'll lose our last means of subsistence: our land."
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