Qorei accuses Israel of bad faith: Work on barrier's most controversial part resumes
RAMALLAH, Jan 25: Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei on Tuesday accused Israel of bad faith by its resuming construction on one of the most controversial sections of the West Bank barrier
, casting a shadow over coordinated efforts to put a halt to attacks by militants.
As hundreds of demonstrators protested against building work on the section near the settlement of Ariel, Mr Qorei said Israel had sent a clear message with such a provocative move at a time when Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is trying to put an end to four years of violence.
"We are making 100 percent efforts to bring about a cease fire but Israel is sending us an ugly message by working on the wall," Mr Qorei told reporters before entering talks with Mr Abbas.
"This is going to lead to the confiscation of large amount of land. The world should be aware of what Israel is doing," he added. Mr Qorei said the Palestinians would make US envoy William Burns "aware of the situation on the ground" when he holds talks with the new Palestinian leadership on a visit to the West Bank later this week.
Several hundred Palestinian and foreign protesters were involved in minor scuffles with Israeli troops on Tuesday as they tried to stop the work going on the barrier in the village of Iskaka, close to Ariel.
Around 300 locals and members of the International Solidarity Movement had gathered in the village where bulldozers resumed work on Monday after a seven-month stoppage.
Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz had given the green light to the resumption of work halted in June by order of the supreme court. Construction of the Ariel section is particularly contentious as it is situated around 20kms inside the West Bank.
Israel insists the barrier is crucial to prevent attacks by West Bank militants, but Palestinians see it as little more than a crude attempt to grab their land and foil the creation of a viable state.
The row over the barrier is the first major Palestinian disagreement with Israel since Mr Abbas's election on Jan 9. Israel has expressed its satisfaction to date with Mr Abbas's efforts to put a halt to attacks by militant groups.
As well as dispatching hundreds of Palestinian troops to northern Gaza with orders to prevent groups such as Hamas firing rockets at Israeli targets, Mr Abbas has also been trying to persuade the factions to lay down their weapons during talks in their Gaza stronghold.
The factions have already agreed to a "cooling down" period and Mr Abbas is confident he can reach a more formal agreement but wants Israel to reciprocate by halting its military operations and releasing Palestinian prisoners.
After the deployments in northern Gaza, Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs hope to coordinate the dispatch of hundreds of Palestinian security forces to southern Gaza with similar orders to prevent attacks.
The head of Palestinian national security in Gaza, Musa Arafat, was to meet the commander of Israeli forces in the territory, Gen Aviv Kochavi, Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat told reporters.
Their discussion were expected to focus on the coordination for the deployment of security forces to the flash point Rafah and Khan Yunis areas of southern Gaza from where members of militant groups such as Hamas have frequently fired rockets at the main Gush Katif bloc of Israeli settlements.
The deployments have led to a marked lull in violence in Gaza but have not signalled a complete end to bloodshed. The body of a Palestinian teenager, whose identity was not immediately known, was retrieved by medics on Tuesday after the youth was shot overnight near the settlement of Netzarim.
The Israeli military said troops had opened fire after he was spotted in a closed military zone. -AFP
