[JURIST] Israel's High Court [official website] ruled on Wednesday that construction of a 1.5-mile sector of the country's security fence [JURIST news archive] in northeast Jerusalem could continue, denying an appeal by residents of a Palestinian neighborhood left outside. After the court ruled in November that construction of the section was legal [JURIST report], work was put on hold while a study was conducted into the effects of the fence. According to the study, 55,000 Palestinians who hold Israeli identification cards will be beyond the parameter of the fence. Nevertheless, Chief Justice Aharon Barak [official profile] said in the opinion that Israel had properly balanced the interests at stake, concluding, "The rights of al-Ram's residents are not absolute; they can be obstructed if there is justification for it."

In 2004 the International Court of Justice [official website] issued a advisory opinion [text; JURIST report] ruling that the wall project violated international law. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel [advocacy website], which filed a petition in the appeal decided Wednesday, expressed disappointment [Jerusalem Post report] at the High Court ruling on the north Jerusalem section, saying that the imprisonment of thousands of people behind the wall is a violation of human rights. UPI has more.