Israel builds West Bank fence

The Israeli authorities have stepped up efforts to build a fortified fence along the line dividing Israel from the mainly Palestinian populated West Bank.

Israel radio says the Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, has ordered the allocation of nearly twenty-five million dollars for the project, which is already underway.

The Israelis say the seventy kilometer long fence will not constitute a political border but merely a security barrier -- to keep out suicide bombers and to funnel all goods traffic through legal check points.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service