Israel’s High Court has ruled against residents of a Yerushalayim neighborhood by allowing legally stalled construction of a large security wall to continue. The nine-judge panel Wednesday ruled against an appeal by residents of the a-Ram neighborhood in northern Jerusalem, lifting a court-imposed halt on construction of the fence.

The barrier includes a 1.5-mile, 35-foot-high concrete wall running down the middle of the Yerushalayim-Shechem highway, the Jerusalem Post reported.

During a cabinet meeting after construction was ordered halted for study, it was revealed some 55,000 east Jerusalem Palestinians carrying Israeli identification cards would end up outside the fence should construction continue, Ynetnews reported.

Judge Aharon Barak said in the ruling: “The rights of al-Ram’s residents are not absolute; they can be obstructed if there is justification for it. The state properly balanced all the factors that had to be taken into account. It is therefore justified in building the fence along its current route.”

WP