A team of Israeli separation wall experts will try to reach an understanding this week with the American administration on the new route of the separation wall.
The delegation, headed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Bureau Chief Dov Weisglass will present the new route, approved last Wednesday by Sharon , to American Administration officials.
The new route still includes the settlements of Ariel, the Gush Etzion bloc, and Ma’aleh Adumim on the west side of the fence. In few other areas, the fence has been moved closer to the Green Line.
A senior government source said that the new route, which brings about a better balance between Israeli security needs and the living needs of Palestinians, ‘should satisfy the Americans’
On Monday, the team of experts will meet the American team, headed by deputy national security advisor Steve Hadley.
The understandings reached between the two teams will be finalized at a meeting between Weisglass and National Security advisor Condoleezza Rice on Thursday
Israel hopes that an American approval of the new proposed route would help Israel to thwart anti-Israel resolutions in the UN, especially ones calling for imposing sanctions against Israel following the ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague that called for dismantling the illegal West Bank barrier.
Including the three major West Bank settlements blocks on the Israeli side of the wall would still isolate considerable areas of the West Bank , therefore dictating unilaterally the separation borders that are likely to turn into the future borders between Israel and any future emerging Palestinian entity.
Palestinians strongly oppose the construction of the fence on any part of West Bank , calling Israel to protect the security of its citizen by building barriers along the Green Line or inside its own territories.
Commentators believe that as U.S. President George Bush handed Israel guarantees to support its claims to hold to major West Bank settlement blocks, the Israeli team is expected to easily win the U.S. Administration approval.
