Israel approved a key modification to the West Bank security barrier. The Cabinet voted Sunday in favor of rerouting the planned barrier to include the West Bank settlements of Ariel and Kedumim, in such a way that it encompasses fewer Palestinian villages. Under the new plan, rather than forming one bloc, the two settlements will be fenced in separately, bisected by a highway allowing travel between Palestinian communities in the area. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ordered construction to be stepped up despite delays caused by legal appeals against its route. Referring to a lethal suicide bombing in Tel Aviv earlier in mid-April, Olmert said to the Cabinet: “The decisions we make today will enable us, in the vital areas, to complete building the fence very quickly and to thus improve our counter-terrorist abilities. … on the assumption that we will have to deal with this problem in the future as well.”
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