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Israel Defies Bush, Claims Separation Wall "Necessity"
EFL - Since it’s Islam Online, of course, the byline was from "Occupied Jerusalem" but there’s a cool pic of the wall on the site link. Taking down the wall is reaallllyyy bad idea. One look at it and you know why the Paleos want it down - a permanent separation stopping the boomers will force them to live in their own squalor without Israel as an excuse
In clear and immediate defiance of U.S. President George Bush’s criticism of the controversial Israeli separation wall now under construction in the West Bank, an Israeli official claimed Saturday, July 26, it was a "necessity."

"The building of this security fence has no political connotations. It’s a necessity dictated by the security imperative of preventing Palestinian suicide bombings against Israel," the official, who asked not to be named, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

In landmark talks with Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas at the White House Friday, July 25, Bush dismissed as a "problem" the wall which Israel started building in June last year.

"I think the wall is a problem, and I have discussed this with (Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon," Bush said, adding it was very difficult to "develop confidence between the Palestinians and the Israelis ... with a wall snaking through the West Bank."

The Israeli official took issue with Bush’s use of the word "wall" even though the barrier does take that form for part of its length.

"It is a shame that President Bush did not use the correct term security fence," argued the Israeli official.

"Israel is not constructing a wall -- it’s the Palestinians who use that term in a bid to persuade the world it’s some sort of Berlin Wall.

"This fence is a necessity and not a choice. Sharon will explain that to President Bush when he meets him" in Washington Tuesday, July 29, the official alleged.

He recalled that in the past the U.S. leader had "always championed Israel’s right to defend itself."

The separation wall, which incorporates a network of earthworks, trenches and patrol roads, also cuts a whole string of Palestinian communities in two.

Planned to snake some 900 kilometers (550 miles) along the West Bank, the wall has infuriated Palestinians as it leaves large swathes of the occupied territory on the Israeli side and is seen as a bid to preempt negotiations on the final borders of the Palestinian state promised by 2005 under a U.S.-backed peace roadmap.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom admitted after his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Thursday, July 24, that a "misunderstanding" is developing between the U.S. administration and Israel over the construction of the wall.


Posted by: Frank G 2003-07-26
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=16941