![UN experts call on Israel to halt West Bank ‘wall’ construction](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] Eight members of the UN Commission on Human Rights [official website] Thursday called on Israel to stop building a barrier [press release] to close off the West Bank. The group, marking the first anniversary this summer of an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the issue [JURIST report], called the building of the barrier a human rights violation and urged Israel to reimburse the Palestinians who have been affected [JURIST report] by the various intrusive fences, walls, watchtowers and trenches erected near or over Israel's border with the West Bank. Though the barrier is incomplete, Israeli security experts believe it has deterred numerous potential Palestinian bombers. Officials at Israel's UN offices in Geneva had no immediate response to the request, but the Israeli government has called the security fence [official website] vital to protecting Israelis from bombers. AP has more.