Israel?s Supreme Court opened hearings yesterday into the legality of a West Bank barrier that the government says is stopping suicide bombers but which civil liberties groups say causes Palestinian hardship.

The case is likely to give government legal teams a taste of what could be in store for lawyers representing Israel at World Court deliberations on the same issue later this month.

Hamoked Centre for the Defence of the Individual and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel are challenging the principle of building the barrier on occupied land and restrictions it imposes on Palestinians in the West Bank.

The barrier ? a razor wire-tipped electronic fence in some places and a towering cement wall in others ? has limited Palestinians? access to fields, schools and neighbouring villages, violating their human rights, the groups said.

Israel says the barrier, much of which is still under construction, has already stopped suicide bombers from reaching its cities. Palestinians call the project a grab for land they want for a future state.

?Indeed, the life of the Palestinians living along the seam line (pre-1967 war boundary with the West Bank) is not easy,? the State?s Attorney?s Office said in a written response filed with the court and published in the Israeli media.

Referring to places where dozens have been killed in suicide bombings, it said: ?However, it must not be forgotten that life on Gaza Road in Jerusalem is not easy either. Nor is it easy to conduct a normal lifestyle in the Maxim or Matza restaurants in Haifa.? The petitioners went ahead with the case despite signals from the government on Sunday that it intends to shorten the barrier?s route and cut out most of the loops around Jewish settlements in a bid to secure U.S. support for the project. Israeli political sources said the revised route would be presented to U.S. officials due in Israel this week to hear Prime Minister Ariel Sharon?s plan to separate unilaterally from the Palestinians if a U.S.-backed peace ?road map? fails.

The Haaretz newspaper quoted Sharon?s chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, as saying he believed the final route would be 600 km (375 miles) long, 100 km (63 miles) shorter than the original approved by the government.

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat, responding to the news, urged Washington to press Israel to halt construction completely for the sake of the road map, which envisions an end to violence and creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

The International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, is to open hearings on February 23 at the behest of the U.N. General Assembly. Any opinion it renders on the legality of the barrier will be non-binding.

Israel, the United States and the European Union have filed briefs with the World Court arguing it was not the proper forum to decide on the issue.

The Palestinian Authority said the court had full jurisdiction to rule on the barrier, calling the project a ?flagrant violation of international law? aimed at sealing a permanent hold on land Israel has occupied since 1967.

Jeffrey Heller