July 22, 2009



Bethlehem � Ma�an � Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel will not remove its West bank separation wall, rejecting a reported demand from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.



"The separation fence will remain in place and will not be dismantled," Netanyahu told members of Israel�s parliament, the Knesset, according to the newspaper Haaretz. He also called the concrete barrier "a critical component of Israel's security."



Israeli media reported on Wednesday that Abbas� Palestinian Authority (PA) had relayed to US President Barack Obama a demand that the wall be removed since the security situation in the West Bank had improved. The report appeared on the front page of the Hebrew-language Ma�ariv daily.



Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters he had brought up the issue to the US. "The Israelis know that the wall adds to the complexities. It's part of the problem and not part of the solution," he was quoted as saying.



Netanyahu claimed that the reverse was true: "I hear they are saying today that because it's quiet, it's possible to take down the fence. My friends, the opposite is true... It's quiet because a fence exists."



Designed to be more than 700 kilometers in length, the wall snakes through the interior of the West Bank, looping around Israeli settlements and cutting off Palestinian access to Jerusalem. After spending billions of dollars on construction, the wall is still not complete, and has a number of gaps, particularly in the south.



Palestinians see the barrier as yet another method of confiscating land. Residents of a number of Palestinian communities demonstrate every Friday against it.









