Sharon orders barrier review

PRIME Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered a review of Israel’s West Bank separation barrier, it emerged yesterday.

A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government has asked committees to study possible changes in the route and technical means of easing movement for Palestinians.

Israel says the 440-mile barrier, which is one-quarter built, is needed to protect against suicide bombers and other attackers. But the network of fences, walls and trenches has severely disrupted the lives of tens of thousand of Palestinians, separating them from their farmland, jobs, hospitals and schools.

The Israeli official said the changes might include adding bridges, tunnels or even moving sections of the barrier. Any changes would need Cabinet approval. The changes would be applied only to existing portions of the structure, the official said. One of its most contentious elements a section extending 25 miles into the West Bank to enclose four Jewish settlements there has yet to be built.

The announcement came as Israel's foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, said he would be travelling to Jordan next week.

Mr Shalom said his visit to Jordan is part of a larger Israeli effort to improve relations with the Arab world. Jordan is a leading critic of the barrier. It fears it will lead to large-scale immigration by West Bank Palestinians, threatening its fragile demographic balance and overwhelming its strained social services.