Israel battles to hold Jerusalem with bulldozers on north, south and east

BATTIR (AFP) 28 Jan — Israel’s separation barrier could soon destroy the livelihoods and redraw the demographics of two Palestinian villages south of Jerusalem, locals say, should an imminent court ruling approve its planned route. The barrier — in parts an eight-meter-high (25-foot) concrete wall — would cut through ancient irrigation systems relied upon by the West Bank village of Battir, separate residents of nearby Beit Jala from their olive groves and divide a local Christian community. The Supreme Court rules on Wednesday whether to approve the defense ministry’s planned route, after a flurry of petitions by locals and activists pleading to redirect it. The ministry insists the barrier, whose construction began in 2002 during the bloody second Palestinian intifada (uprising) and which now snakes some 440 kilometers through the West Bank, is essential for Israeli security.