Israel's defence chief has approved a new route for its West Bank barrier in response to an Israeli court ruling to shift some sections to avoid cutting off Palestinian villagers from their land, officials say.
The rerouting, affecting a slice of the barrier in the central West Bank, would fence in 3,750 acres of land instead of a planned 8,500 acres along the original course, the officials said today.
The new route, ratified by Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, must still be approved by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet.
Israel says the planned 600 kilometers long barrier, of which some 200 kilometers have been built, is aimed at stopping Palestinian suicide bombers from reaching its cities.
Palestinians call the project a land grab designed to deny them a viable state.
Israel's High Court ordered a rerouting in June to minimise hardship to Palestinians, thousands of whom have been cut off from schools, hospitals, relatives and farmland.
But it also ruled Israel had a right to build the barrier for security reasons.
The United Nations has estimated some 12,000 Palestinians could find themselves on the "Israeli side" of the barrier when it is complete.
The International Court of Justice, a UN body based in the Hague, ruled in July the barrier, built on land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East War, was illegal and should be torn down.
Israel rejected the non-binding decision as politically motivated but its own High Court last week gave the government 30 days to produce a statement assessing the ramifications of the World Court decision.