39 petitions concerning the Security Fence are still pending to be examined by the Supreme Court. 28 of them consist of objections to the planned route of the Security Fence:

• 3 of them concern the already existing fence in the area of Alfei Menashe
• 7 of them deal with the fence in Jerusalem
• 6 of them object to the route between Elkana to Jerusalem
• 6 of them concern the planned route in Gush Etzion
• 2 of them concern the planned route between- Jaba- Shomriya
• 2 of them concern the planned route from Metzadot Yehudah to the Hever spring
• 2 of them concern the planned route in Maale Adomim

Two other petitions deal with 2 crossings: the Lamed Hei (Jaba) Crossing and the Ramot Crossing.
9 other petitions refer to humanitarian issues.
So far, 102 petitions have been dealt with by the Supreme Court.

41 petitions concerning the Security Fence are still pending to be examined by the Supreme Court.
31 of them consist of objections to the planned route of the Security Fence:

• 9 of them deal with the fence in Jerusalem
• 6 of them object the route between Elkana to Jerusalem
• 6 - concern the the planned route in Gush Etzion
• 2 of them concern the planned route between- Jaba- Shomriya
• 3 concern the protective fence between Shomriya and Metzadot Yehuda
• 2 concern Maale Adomim

One other petition deals with the Lamed Hei (Jaba) Crossing.
9 other petitions refer to humanitarian issues.
So far, 96 petitions have been dealt with by the Supreme Court.

"Route of the Security Fence in Jerusalem is legal and is based on security considerations". This was the jurisdiction of nine Supreme Court judges.

Accordingly, construction of the Security Fence between Har Adar and Maale Hachamisha resumed today, November 26th 2006, based on the Supreme Court's jurisdiction defining it as a legal security provision. The Supreme Court rejected appeals of Bir Naballah and Beit Chanina residents and stated that the route chosen is propotional and takes into consideration both security and humanitarian concerns. Construction work resumed after a one year cessation during which the issue was thoroughly checked by the court.

58 petitions concerning the Security Fence are to be examined by the Supreme Court.
47 of them consist of objections to the planned route of the Security Fence:

• 16 of them deal with the fence in Jerusalem
• 14- the route between Elkana to Jerusalem
• 3 concerning Ariel "fingers"
• 6- Gush Etzion
• 1- Jaba- Shomriya
• 2 Protective fence between Shomria and Metzadot Yehuda
• 2 Maale Adomim
• 2 Metzadot Yehuda- the Dead Sea

One other petition deals with the Lamed Hei (Jaba) Crossing.
10 other petitions refer to humanitarian issues.
So far, 76 petitions have been dealt by the Supreme Court.

The cabinet decided Sunday, April 30th 2006 to change the route of the Security Fence in several areas.
Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert termed the changes as very important and reinstated the importance of completing the Security Fence as quickly as possible as a crucial element in the war against Palestinian terror.

The changes are:

• Ariel area- creation of two thin settlement blocks (instead of one) leaving some 40,000 Palestinians outside the fence. Israelis living in Ariel, karnei Shomron and Kdumim will be able to travel safely to Raanana and Kfar Saba whereas Palestinians will be able to move freely to the east and to the north.
• The route of the already constructed fence in Alfei Menashe will be changed leaving three clusters of houses in Ras a Tira, A-Dabaa and Wadi Rasha outside the fence, on the Palestinian side.
• Beit Iksa near Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood will be left outside the fence.
• The Palestinian village, Jaba which over looks the Gush Etzion Elah road, will be inside the fence with a crossing built to allow residents of Jaba to travel to the nearby Palestinian town Tzurif.
• Eshkolot and Metzadot Yehuda in the southern Hebron Hills will be inside the fence however quarries will be left out.
• The route from Metzadot to Har Choled, has been approved

The cabinet also decided that the Police will be responsible for the "Jerusalem Envelope".

335 km of the Security Fence have been completed and are operational.
Work is progressing apart from sections that are still under legal proceedings.

Route under legal review
55 petitions concerning the route of the Security Fence are waiting for the ruling of the High Court of Justice.

• 17 of them refer to the "surrounding Jerusalem section of the Security Fence.
• 15 of them refer to the route from Elkana to Jerusalem.
• 6 of them refer to the Ariel "fingers", including Beit Arieh-Ofarim.
• 7 of them refer to Gush Etzion
• 3 of them refer to the route from Jabaa to Shomriah
• 3 of them refer to the fence from Shomriah to Mezadot Yehuda
• 1 refers to the route in the area of Susia
• 3 of them refer to Maa'le Adomim.

There are some more relevant petititons:

• 1 petititon refers to the Lamed Hei (Jabba) Crossing
• 2 petitions refer to general issues (permits policy)
• 7 petitions refer to sections where the fence has already been completed.

55 petitions have been dealt with and conluded so far, either in legal procedures or after mutual consent has been reached.
Several petitions concerning entry permits, including to the Jerusalem area have been dealt with and some are waiting to be concluded.
1 petition concerning the location of observation systems has been resolved as were 3 petitions requesting extension of objection period.

300 km have been completed and are operational.
143 km are under construction.
58 km are about to enter construction phase.

Route under legal review:

• 26 km awaiting ruling by the High Court of Justice.
• 76 km in legal procedures resulting from appeals presented by land owners.
• 7 km in Jerusalem are under consideration of the Appeal Committee adjunct to the District Court in Tel Aviv.
• 124 km awaiting approval by the Ministry of Justice.

The High Court of Justice rejected two petitions protesting for opposite reasons the route of the Security Fence between Maccabim-Reut and the Palestinian village of Beit Sira and lifted the interim injunction blocking construction.
A panel of three justices headed by Supreme Court President Aharon Barak ruled that the route of the fence properly balanced the security needs of the Israeli population and the quality of life and well-being of the Palestinians.
"We are satisfied that in the circumstances the decisions of the military commander fell within the realm of reasonability pertinent to these issues", wrote Barak. "The military commander's decision came after he had weighed all of the relevant information and in accordance with the standards established by this court in the guideline decisions it has handed down in connection with the fence".
Barak wrote that in establishing the new fence route, "it is obvious that the state made an effort to reduce the harm to the Palestinian residents, while at the same time trying to achieve its security goals".
Accordingly, work in this section which has been held back, will resume.

275 km of the Security Fence have been completed and are operational. 150 km are in an advanced construction stage. Planning of 83 km has been completed and work is about to commence.
The route concerning another 100 km is being evaluated by various legal authorities and almost 150 km more are in a process of staff work and planning.
The Security Fence is operational along a continuous route of 200 km from Tirat Zvi in the north to Elkana in the center. There are some tens of kms in different areas- Offer- Elkana, Jaba- Shomriya and in the Jerusalem area itself that have been completed but due to statutory and legal procedures, there is no continuity.
According to plan, the Security Fence in Jerusalem (60 km) will be operational by the end of 2005 and in the first quarter of 2006, the section from Shomriya toward Mezudot Yehuda (43 km) will become operational as well.

48 petitions concerning the Security Fence are to be examined by the Supreme Count.

16 of these petitions deal with the fence in the Jerusalem area. Five more deal with humanitarian issues such as permits policy, opening hours of the agricultural gates etc.

So far, 43 petitions have been concluded. Mostly after reaching an agreement with the plaintiff who with drew the petition.

Israel has the right to build the Security Fence beyond the "Green Line" in order to protect Israeli settlements and Israeli citizens. This principled ruling was given unanimously, by a panel of nine justices of the Supreme Court which handed down their judgement on a petition dealing with the legality of the security fence in the area of Alfei Menashe.

The Court was convinced that the reason behind the decision to erect the fence was not a political one. The decision to erect the fence which was made in June 2002, was made in light of the severe terrorism situation which has plagued Israel since September 2000. Security-military considerations prevented building the fence on the Green Line. The Court reached the conclusion that the reason behind building the fence is the security consideration of preventing infiltration by terrorists into Israel and into Israeli communities in the Judea and Samaria area such as Alfei Menashe.

The Court determined that constructing the fence on the Green Line would leave Alfei Menashe on the eastern side of the fence, vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Any route of the fence must take into account the need to provide security to the Israeli residents of Alfei Menashe. However, the Court ordered the state to reconsider the existing route, and to examine the possibility of removing the enclave villages - all of them, or some of them - from the "Israeli" side of the fence putting to test the criteria of proportionality.

Thus, the Court issued an order absolute, in the following sense: the state must, within a reasonable period, reconsider the various alternatives for the fence route at Alfei Menashe, while examining security alternatives which injure the daily lives of the residents of the Palestinian villages in the enclave to a lesser extent.

On the principle dimension the Supreme Court exmined the extent to which the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice at the Hague affects the approach of the Supreme Court of Israel regarding the legality of the fence according to international law.

It was held that the Court shall grant full weight to the rules of international law, as developed and interpreted by the ICJ, which is the highest judicial body in international law. In contrast, the ICJ's conclusion, based upon a different factual basis, is not res judicata and does not obligate the Supreme Court of Israel to determine that all segments of the fence violate international law.

Maj. Gen (Ret) Amos Yaron

Maj. Gen (Ret) Amos Yaron, Director General of the Ministry of Defense dedicated his last day in office to tour the Security Fence in the Jerusalem area. Driving himself along the newly paved road he promised that the entire Security Fence would be completed by the end of the year.
"All of the fence from Tirat Zvi in the north until Yatir, Metzudot Yehoda after Arad in the south, all of this section will be completely finished by the end of this year- in other words, in another three or four months."
Yaron added that there were a few small sections that were still under judiciary review by the high court of justice, but in those sections the IDF will provide the necessary security solution.
At a certain point in the tour, many of the contractors building the fence held a mini farewell ceremony. They handed him a model of a D9 buldozer with a dedication to the tough, strong and opinionated Director General who knew how to step out of his office and solve on the spot problems, pushing forward like a bulldozer.
Yaron thanked the contractors and the many people present saying: " A lot of groups have a part in erecting this exemplary barrier which may not give a total answer to terror, but is certainly a significant answer to the war against terror."

Maj. Gen (Ret) Amos Yaron, checking the route on the map

The security fence in construction

The High Court of Justice rejected a petition submitted by 24 Palestinian villages requesting the court to issue an interim injunction to freeze construction of the Security Fence between Har Adar and Beit Surik. In the new petition, the residents also asked the court to reject part of the revised land seizure order for the construction of the fence.
The petitioners said the new route expropriates 200 dunams of agricultural land for the fence and separates the villagers from 1000 dunams more which will be located on the Israeli side of the fence. They charged that the route of the fence on the eastern side of Har Adar trespasses into the west bank in order to include the land on the Israeli side.

The following is a summary of the State of Israel's response to the ICJ advisory opinion of July 9th 2004 on the Security Fence. The complete statement was presented to the High Court of Justice on February 23rd 2005.

1. Israeli law provides that any administrative decision of the state is subject to judicial review by the Israel Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice. The court can be petitioned by any affected party,