[JURIST] The Israeli cabinet Sunday approved plans for enclosing Jerusalem by part of the security fence [official website] designed to keep out suicide bombers and prevent other terrorist attacks on Israel's civilian population. Palestinians in four Jerusalem neighborhoods that include some 55,000 people [Jerusalem Post report] say that the new fencing will cut them off and will cause major delays in getting to work and school. Israel has promised to come up with a plan to address these problems by September 1, and has also insisted that the wall is intended only as a temporary measure. AP has more. A non-binding 2004 ruling [text] by the International Court of Justice [official website] held that the fence is not justified by security concerns [JURIST report].

5:06 PM ET – An Israeli Cabinet minister acknowledged Monday that the security barrier around Jerusalem was intended to ensure a Jewish majority in the city, apparently contradicting the government's official security claims. Haim Ramon, the Israeli Cabinet minister for Jerusalem, said during an interview with Israel radio that while the security fence protects against terror attacks by suicide bombers it "also makes it more Jewish." Israel seized the eastern part of Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six Days War, but the barrier will cut off a number of Arab neighborhoods. AP has more. From Israel, Haaretz has local coverage of the announcement of the "Jerusalem envelope."