Top Israeli military officials continue to criticize the decision made by the High Court of Justice in Israel concerning the West Bank separation wall.
The State’s General Attorny Menachem Mazuz has scolded those who criticized the court ruling.
Amos Yaron, Director General of the Ministry of Defense said in a meeting for the Knesset’s foreign and security affairs committee on Monday that the court took such a decision due to the army prevention of attacks.
‘If the court had to take a decision two years ago concerning the route of the separation wall, it would have been a different one. It would not come up with such a decision in period full of terrorism,’ said Yaron. ‘The court based its decision on the period the decision was taken in’ he added.
Yaron claimed that Israel had to build this wall because the situation on the ground needed that at a time it could not reach an agreement with anyone. ‘When there is an agreement, the wall could be shifted as we did earlier with the northern borders.’ Yaron said.
The high court ruling, although not binding, causes a crisis in the government if not implemented, local observers said. The same man who is highly criticizing the court decision said the military establishment will abide by the ruling and will make he required changes.
One the other hand, the court ruling was received indifferently among Palestinians.
Some welcomed the decision and saw it as a chance to change the route of the wall in other places.
However, others, among them some of the residents of the areas adjacent to the wall were concerned that the court will rule to change the wall route only in few cases which will in a way or another legalize the rest of the route.
One of the farmers in Jayyous which lost a huge area of its land for the wall said, ‘They will change the route in few places, and then say that the rest is legal and OK. They did the same with the settlements and came up with the term ‘illegal outpost’ to cheat the world by saying that we destroy the settlements and provoke a resistance by the settlers to show that Israel gave ‘painful’ concessions for peace’
