Israel’s High Court of Justice on Tuesday upheld construction of a segment of Israel’s controversial security barrier that would encompass the post-1967 community of Shavei Shomron and necessitate the confiscation of about thirteen acres of land from an adjoining Arab village and the uprooting of 350 of its olive trees. In the petition, residents of the Arab village contended that the fence would unjustly disrupt their lives, including cutting them off from the rest of their farmlands. But in a majority opinion that might influence other cases still pending, Supreme Court President Aaron Barak determined that, "the balance the military commander reached (in designing the fence route) between security demands and Israeli and Palestinian residents’ rights is reasonable.” Barak wrote that, "under the circumstances, the damage inflicted on the petitioners is in proportion to the security benefits the fence will provide. The fence’s aim is to protect the lives of the Israeli residents from terrorism. The expected benefit is, therefore, very great. On the other hand, the damage to the petitioners is neither great nor severe enough to outdo the benefits.”