A Jordan Times editorial

Israel's decision to go ahead with its plan to complete the controversial and illegal wall around East Jerusalem means only one thing: The government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is determined to continue its expansionist policy and the Judaisation of Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem.

The Israeli Cabinet Sunday approved a new route for its wall for Jerusalem, and by so doing it has effectively cut off no less than a quarter of the entire Palestinian population in East Jerusalem from the rest of the Holy City and sealed the fate of that part of Jerusalem.

Nearly 55,000 Palestinians will be affected by this arbitrary decision which came in defiance of rulings both by the International Court of Justice, which decided that the entire wall is unlawful, and by its own supreme court, which said that the construction of the barrier as planned infringes on the fundamental rights of the Palestinians.

So why is Sharon going ahead with this plan at this particular time, despite its obvious illegality?

It is no accident that the timing of the Israeli Cabinet decision on the new route for the barrier coincides with Israel's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Sharon, who now heads a coalition government that brings together his own Likud Party and the Labour Party, must have calculated that now is the time to seize East Jerusalem, a prime prize for Israel, and give up Gaza, which has become a big liability for his state.

Sharon's ambitions for Jerusalem are big: To disfranchise a quarter of the Arab residents of East Jerusalem and to consolidate the occupation of the Holy City altogether, all with the blessing of the Labour and other splinter parties that make up his government.

Understandably, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas immediately reacted to this Israeli decision, saying: "I do not believe this is helpful either to the peace process or to the Israeli security. It will put obstacles in the way of peace."

The Palestinian leader's reaction is obviously an understatement of the real threats to peace posed by the barrier's path in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian side would be well-advised to go to the Israeli supreme court once again, to seek an immediate stop to the implementation of the new route of the wall.

The Palestinians may also wish to put the issue of the barrier before the next session of the UN General Assembly, due to convene in New York in less than three months. Better still, the Palestinian Authority should contemplate referring this new threat to peace to the UN Security Council.

Time is not on the side of peace and of the Palestinians. As such, more effective reactions to the wall must come not only from the Palestinians but also from the rest of the international community as well.

This article was published in the Tuesday, July 12, 2005 edition of the Jordan Times. It is used here with permission.