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Fencing reflects racism: Arafat

RAMALLAH June 17. The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, lashed out today at Israel's move to build a massive security fence along the West Bank, calling it a "horrible aggression" reflecting "Zionist racism."

Israel had yesterday officially kicked off construction of the first third of what will eventually be a 350-km barrier aimed at keeping would-be suicide bombers at bay.

A suspected Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up today in the northern West Bank near the "green line" between Israel and the West Bank. The Israeli Defence Minister, Ben Eliezer, had previously warned that five Palestinian militants were planning suicide bombings in Israel.

Mr. Arafat added his voice today to a chorus of Palestinian complaints about the barrier that will run along the "green line" and wind around Jerusalem. "The separation wall is a horrible aggression," he told reporters while visiting schools in the Ramallah area. "It is not possible, under any circumstance, to accept it, and we will refuse it completely". — AFP

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