THE HAGUE, February 24 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Jordan told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Tuesday, February 24, that Israel's West Bank separation wall was a land grab and could trigger an exodus of Palestinian refugees.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops assaulted Palestinians protesting the start of work on a new part of the 700-kilometre long barrier in the northern West Bank village of Beit Surik.

Speaking on the second day of ICJ hearings into the legality of the wall, Prince Zeid Bin Raad, the head of Jordan's delegation, told the court that Israel’s security claims do not justify construction of the controversial barrier on vast swathes of Palestinian lands.

"Much of the wall now being built by Israel is in territory that does not belong to Israel, but is in fact occupied territory," averred the Jordanian royal.

Instead the wall was "aimed at further assimilation of occupied territories into the state of Israel ".

He said the wall could trigger an influx of Palestinian refugees into Jordan which " already hosts a huge number of refugees and displaced persons".

"We are faced with the threat of a new wave of refugees as result of the wall's construction," Raad asserted.

The Jordanian government fears the barrier threatens its national security and undermines the future creation of a Palestinian state as stipulated by the internationally-backed Middle East roadmap peace blueprint.

Israel decided to boycott the ICJ hearings, claiming the case does not fall into the court’s jurisdiction.

It submitted a written statement to defend the barrier instead, alleging it was being built to provide security for the Israelis people.

The hearings are expected to last until Wednesday, February 25, but no date has been set for a verdict.

The wall -- a montage of razor wire, electronic fencing and concrete -- is Israel's most expensive project ever at an estimated cost of $3.4 billion. Around 180 kilometers of it have been built so far.

It juts deep into the West Bank at several points and cuts off entire villages from their fields, schools and hospitals.

Israel struck a defiant note Tuesday by starting work on 42 kilometers (25 miles) of the barrier in the northern West Bank village of Beit Surik.

Around 100 Palestinian villagers tried to stop two Israeli bulldozers by lying down in front of them.

Israeli occupation forces used stun grenades and beat the angry Palestinians with sticks as the bulldozers razed a 150-meter (yard) row of olive trees to draw the path for the barrier.

They also hit some of the protestors with the butts of their assault rifles, and several suffered severe head wounds, an AFP correspondent said.

Beit Surik's mayor, Mohammed Qundiel, said more than 50 residents were injured, including elderly persons who inhaled teargas, and that five or six youths were arrested by Israeli police.

"We were caught by surprise when the bulldozers came this morning," he said, lamenting that 60 hectares (150 acres) of Beit Surik's most fertile land would be caught on Israel's side of the fence.

"We are known in the whole West Bank for growing the juiciest peaches and now we will be deprived of our peach trees and of our olive trees.

"The bulldozers are still tearing up the land, it's a dark day for Beit Surik," said the mayor in an emotional voice.

Israel's army radio said the Beit Surik section of the wall was being built as part of a larger 96-kilometer (60-mile) stretch between the Elkana Jewish settlement and the Ofer detention camp in the northwestern West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was quoted by Yediot Aharonot newspaper as saying he would complete "his security fence" regardless of the opinion of the ICJ.

"What is in motion at The Hague is an attempt to deny Israel the fundamental right to defend itself," he claimed.

"We will not surrender. I will build the security fence and will complete it, as the cabinet decided."

The hawkish premier also criticized the "campaign of hypocrisy currently being staged against Israel in the international circus in The Hague".