Firms sued for Israeli wall

2004-08-12 19:20

Nablus - A group of Palestinians sued two local cement companies on Thursday, claiming they have been supplying Israel with the material to build parts of its contentious West Bank separation barrier.

A Palestinian commission of inquiry last month found the Al Tarifi and Barake companies had diverted thousands of tons of cement destined for Palestinian houses to Israel, most of it going to the barrier. Investigators said the firms had planned to make quick money from Israeli contractors.

Accompanied by two lawyers, Abed Al Satar Qassem, a political science professor at Nablus' A Najah University, filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and nine other Palestinians at the Nablus court house.

Qassem, who has had land confiscated to build the barrier, said they were not demanding proper compensation, but a symbolic $5 000 from the two companies.

Barrier an 'apartheid wall'

"This is for the whole of the Palestinian people," he said, adding that he wanted Palestinians to know they could also get justice through the courts.

Barake and Al Tarifi both refused to comment. Al Tarifi is owned by the family of Palestinian cbinet minister Jamal Tarifi.

Palestinians denounce the barrier as an "apartheid wall" and a land grab. Israel says it is necessary to protect its people from Palestinian suicide bombers, who have killed hundreds of Israelis after infiltrating from the West Bank.

- AP