JERUSALEM, Aug 23 (AFP) - Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Monday that part of the separation barrier being built in the West Bank would be moved closer to the internationally-recognised border between Israel and the Palestinian territory.
The minister told the Israeli parliament`s foreign affairs and defense committee that a planned new section of the barrier from Jerusalem to the northern West Bank would be moved nearer the so-called Green Line to reduce the encroachment on Palestinian land by nearly 20 square kilometers (eight square miles).
Mofaz told MPs that only 15 square kilometers of West Bank land would now lie on the "Israeli" side in the section of the barrier as opposed to 34 square kilometers as originally planned, a parliamentary source said.
The alterations to the route, to the northwest of Jerusalem and the east of Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv have been made to bring the barrier in line with a recent ruling by Israel`s supreme court.
The Israeli government has agreed to abide by the rulings of its supreme court which recently ordered changes to part of the route as it infringed on the fundamental rights of some 35,000 Palestinians living near Jerusalem.
It has vowed to ignore a July ruling by the International Court of Justice that parts built on Palestinian land were illegal and should be torn down.