UN's Chief Says Fence Must Go

The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, yesterday declared Israel in violation of international law for flouting a UN resolution calling for its "security fence" around the West Bank to be dismantled.

The fence "could damage the longer-term prospects for peace", Mr Annan wrote in a report requested by the UN general assembly.

The barrier consists of 95 miles of walls, fences, barbed wire and trenches, and is planned to extend for 375 miles. Palestinians have accused the government of the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, of using the barrier to stake out land in advance of territorial negotiations.

In his report, which a UN official described as "unusually blunt", Mr Annan acknowledged the duty of Mr Sharon's government to protect its people from suicide bombings.

But he added: "That duty should not be carried out in a way that is in contradiction to international law, that could damage the longer-term prospects for peace by making the creation of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state more difficult, or that increases the suffering among the Palestinian people."

Arye Mekel, Israel's deputy UN ambassador, said Israel would not dismantle the barrier, which he described as "an efficient and non-violent means of self-defence" as long as "the Palestinian leadership refuses to pursue a substantial and concentrated effort to confront the terrorists".