In an advisory judgement rejected by Israel, the court ruled in 2004
that the barrier is illegal where it cuts into the West Bank.

Israel says the barrier is needed to keep out
Palestinian attackers, but Palestinian officials describe the barrier’s
route as a land-grab.

Detailing what it called the humanitarian impact of the barrier, the UN
report said some Palestinian communities which did export food before
had now been reduced to receiving food aid.

It focused on agricultural areas close to the city of
Qalqilya, which is enclosed by the barrier on three sides, and where
other farmers and families are forced to live between two sections of
the barrier.

Almost 60% of the barrier had now been built, the report said,
asserting that thousands more Palestinians would suffer if construction
continued.

“The majority of the route, approximately 87%, runs
inside the West Bank and East Jerusalem, rather than along the 1949
Armistice Line (Green Line),” the report said.

“This has a major impact on Palestinian villages, towns
and cities, isolating communities and separating tens of thousands of
people from services, lands and livelihoods.”

It described the “restrictive” permits policy in place
along the completed northern section of the route, and said some areas
now faced increased unemployment, “displaced” young men, and worsening
economic conditions.