Associated Press

Jerusalem, February 29,

Israel’s Supreme Court today ordered the government to suspend work for one week on a section of the West Bank barrier around eight Palestinian villages northwest of Jerusalem, an attorney said.

The decision followed a bloody protest by area residents against the barrier last week. Israeli troops fired live ammunition at the crowd, killing two people in the first deadly protests against the barrier. The court ordered the suspension while the army re-examines the planned route ahead of another hearing next week, said Mohammed Dahla, a lawyer for the Popular Committee Against the Wall.

Court officials did not immediately comment. The committee, which represents Israelis and Palestinians opposed to the barrier, has asked the court to halt construction in the area. It says the planned route of the barrier would effectively imprison 30,000 Palestinians in their towns and villages, Dahla said. He said the barrier would encircle the towns and villages and cut them off from Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Meanwhile, Israeli security services were on a high state of alert on Sunday for fear of reprisals after the killing of three Palestinians in an air strike near Gaza City, including a leader of Islamic Jihad.