June 3, 2002	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 21,1423

LONDON: In a bid to prevent further attacks on its towns, cities and people, Israel has devised a security plan, which introduces stringent restrictions on the free movement of the Palestinian people. Britain, however, has slammed the plan as, in effect, a reoccupation of the West Bank, which splits Palestinian land into fenced-off “cantons.”

The process of establishing “security separation zones” in Palestinian territory — controlling the movement of all people and goods — has been likened to creating South African-style “Bantustans” which critics say will annihilate the Palestinian economy. Britain is urging the European Union to protest at the Israeli moves.

Under the new regime, Palestinians are banned from travel between cities in the West Bank without a permit. Permits will be valid for a month at a time and allow travel between 5am and 7pm. The movement of Palestinians with West Bank ID cards to Israel and occupied East Jerusalem is prohibited.

The security plan also envisages stringent restrictions on the movement of goods between Israel and Palestinian areas. Goods being transported from Israel to the West Bank, as well as between cities within the West Bank, will be subject to the “back-to-back” system. Goods will have to be off-loaded from incoming trucks and loaded on to local trucks.

So-called “white plated trucks” (those belonging to diplomatic and international organizations) transporting humanitarian goods will be allowed access into the West Bank only if the truck is driven by an international driver.

An even more rigorous regime is envisaged in the Gaza Strip. The transport of goods into Gaza will be allowed only for humanitarian purposes -namely food.

The World Bank has already estimated the cost to the Palestinian economy of the Intifada and Israeli closures at $2.4 billion during the first 15 months of the uprising, from September 2000 to December 2001. This was before Israel’s recent large-scale military incursions in March and April, during which towns were under curfew for several weeks.

The plan to divide up Palestinian-controlled areas comes as Israel hurries to install new ditches and razor wire and 220 miles of electronic fences and obstacles to separate it from the West Bank.

Britain has raised its concerns with Israel over the new plan and is to push for EU-wide pressure on the Israelis to scrap the new zones.

Israeli officials have denied the plan is intended to divide up the Palestinian territories. Maj David Beaudoin, a spokesman for Israel’s office for coordinating activities in the Palestinian territories, said that the intent of the plan was the exact opposite of that claimed by its detractors. —Dawn/The Observer News Service.