OCCUPIED TERRITORIES: APARTHEID WALL

Reuters: Israel Has Plans For Extending Security Fence

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israel has prepared a plan to extend a security barrier into the eastern part of the West Bank which, if completed, would completely encircle Palestinians, a senior security source said on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, when asked about the plan in a television interview, confirmed its existence but gave no details about exactly when or where it would be built.

"At the moment, we are planning the route and when it will be ready, it will be brought before the government (for approval)," Sharon said in response to a question about where the eastern portion of the fence will be located.

Israel has already built a 90-mile barrier, which is expected to extend 180 miles by the end of the year, in what it says an attempt to keep Palestinian suicide bombers away. Palestinians say the fence, built inside the West Bank, is a land grab keeping them from their property.