Senior UN official slams security fence as 'unacceptable'

Under-Secretary-General Valerie Amos says she's "horrified" by Israeli policies; plans to meet with PA leaders, but not Israelis.

By LAHAV HARKOV
valerie amos 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
valerie amos 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos called for the West Bank security fence to be taken down during a visit to Jerusalem on Saturday.
"I am horrified by the way the barrier affects Palestinians," Amos said. "It divides communities and inhibits the provision of services."
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"This is unacceptable," she added in a statement, in which she called for "an end to forced displacement."
The senior UN official plans to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday, and said she "hopes to meet Israeli authorities in Tel Aviv."
In a statement released on Saturday, Amos's office lamented that "only 13 percent of land in east Jerusalem is available for Palestinian use and it is already overcrowded."
Amos said that Israel's "policies lead to forced displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem and from the rest of the West Bank."
"Palestinians must be able to plan and develop their communities," she added. "They must be able to access education and healthcare facilities and to conduct their professional and personal lives without restriction."