Dutch gov't warns company to stop work on W. Bank fence

[Scurrilous]

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"The Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, recently warned a construction company from the Rotterdam area to terminate its involvement in work on the separation fence in the West Bank.

"I expect Riwal to stop providing cranes for the wall. I hope this will be the last we hear of it," Verhagen said in a media statement late last month, adding that "the government will keep a close watch" on the company's actions.

The Dutch foreign ministry called the company's work on the barrier "undesirable," citing the 2004 ruling by the Hague-based International Court of Justice that the fence was illegal.

Last year, the company agreed to halt its involvement following a request by the foreign ministry. However, the issue resurfaced last month after United Civilians for Peace (UCP) an organization promoting peace in the Middle East submitted evidence showing that Riwal was still providing equipment for the wall's contractors."

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[Scurrilous]

1. UN: Separation fence will sever Jerusalem from West Bank

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"The United Nations issued a report Monday saying the security fence Israel is building will effectively separate mainly Arab-populated East Jerusalem from the West Bank.

"This will restrict access to workplaces, health, education and to places of worship", the report said.

The Defense Ministry, in charge of the project, made no immediate comment on the report.

The report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Israel has completed more than half of a planned 720 km fence started in 2003.

In 2004, the World Court ruled construction of the fence was illegal. Israel has ignored the ruling, the report said.

Another fence under construction around a settlement bloc near the West Bank town of Bethlehem will isolate a Palestinian cultural area there and "sever Bethlehem from Jerusalem," the nine-page document said."

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/879955.html