Israel dismantles part of West Bank fence

BILI'IN, West Bank, June 23 (UPI) -- Four years after a high court ruling, Israel began dismantling sections of the West Bank security barrier near the Palestinian village Bili'in west of Ramallah.

The village has been the focal point of violent demonstrations weekly, with residents demanding the fence be rerouted.

Defense Ministry personnel Wednesday began removing a segment of the fence because the court determined it had been built on Palestinian land.

"We are implementing the court ruling to the letter. We negotiated with those who appealed to the high court and sat down with them and basically drew out the new contours of the security fence," Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner told CNN.

The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, a local activists group, said in a statement the rerouting still partitions 435 acres of village land from residents, the Ma'an news agency reported.

"We will continue to struggle until all the land is returned to our people and we see an end to Israeli occupation," committee member Mohammed Khatib told the agency.

In 2002 Israel began construction of the controversial West Bank security barrier to prevent suicide bombings inside Israel by West Bank Palestinians. The multi-layered fence was erected along and inside parts of the West Bank.