Israel began construction of a section of the separation fence in the southern West Bank on Sunday, five days after Palestinian suicide bombers carried out an attack from the area, local newspaper Haaretz reported.

Israeli security officials confirmed that the construction work started on a 30km stretch of barrier southwest of Hebron.

But the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the work wasn't related to last week's attack in Beersheva, in which Hamas suicide bombers from Hebron killed 16 people.

The bombing has put pressure on the Israeli government to speedup construction, which was delayed by a series of legal challenges.

The barrier is about one-third complete and hasn't reached the Beersheva area yet. After last week's attack, local officials said they had warned the government for several months that their area was vulnerable to attack.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat on Sunday condemned the latest construction.

"This action totally destroys the roadmap," he said, referring to a US-backed peace plan meant to bring about an independent Palestinian state next year.

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2004)