Israel began construction work on the southern section of its controversial West Bank separation barrier Sunday, days after a double suicide bombing by Palestinians from the region.
At least two bulldozers could be seen levelling land around the village of Beit Awwa near the internationally-recognised border between Israel and the West Bank, witnesses said.
"Work has begun in the area as planned," a defence ministry spokeswoman confirmed to AFP.
Sixteen people as well as the two bombers from the hard-line Hamas movement were killed Tuesday in a twin attack on board buses in the southern Israeli city of Beersheva. The militants entered Israel from the main southern West Bank city of Al-Khalil.
Construction work on the barrier had been previously restricted to the north of the Palestinian territory, a strategy which Israeli officials say has contributed to a concentration of militant activity in the south.
Officials said in the aftermath of the suicide attacks that construction would be accelerated in the south, although they insisted the start of work on the section had been decided on some time ago and was not in response to the bus bombings.
The Israeli media had been fiercely critical of the lack of progress in work on the southern section.
While Israel insists that the barrier - a montage of concrete, electronic fencing and razor wire - is essential to prevent attacks, the Palestinians say its route shows it has less to do with security than grab their land.
The International Court of Justice has ruled that parts of the barrier built within the West Bank are illegal and should be torn down.
The Israeli government has officially vowed to ignore the ICJ's non-binding verdict but it has been reworking the route of the barrier so it comes nearer the so-called Green Line.
Hamas meanwhile was gearing up for elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip next year after boycotting the last Palestinian elections.
The radical Islamist group, the smaller Islamic Jihad movement and the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) urged followers to sign the electoral roll in a bid to take advantage of disillusionment with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah faction.
"Hamas is asking all the Palestinian people to register to vote in the elections," the organisation said in a statement.
"We in Hamas regard elections as a way to lay the foundations for a community built on the pillars of freedom, stability and justice," it added.
Palestinian officials announced on Saturday that they planned to hold simultaneous presidential, parliamentary and municipal polls in spring 2005.
The Palestinians' only legislative and presidential elections were held in 1996, two years after the launch of limited self-rule as part of the Oslo peace accords.
However those polls were boycotted by the three groups which rejected the Oslo peace process and are still committed to the creation of a Palestinian state that includes the land of Israel.
A senior Fatah member, speaking on condition of anonymity, voiced fears that his faction could face an electoral meltdown in Gaza.
"There are real fears that Hamas will sweep the board in Gaza," he said. "Fatah has not prepared at all and we are consumed by internal affairs."
Comments
Comments are closed.