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The barrier route as of May 2005. Area between the barrier and the 1949 Arab-Israeli armistice line is colored in blue. Some previously approved portions have become uncertain due to Israeli Supreme Court decisions and are subject to re-design. As of April 2006 the length of the barrier as approved by the Israeli government is 703 kilometers (436 miles) long. Approximately 58.4% has been constructed, 8.96% is under construction, and construction has not yet begun on 33% of the barrier.
Aerial view looking east from the Israeli side.
The barrier between Abu Dis and Jerusalem, June 2004
The barrier between northern Samaria and the Gilboa

The Israeli West Bank barrier is a physical barrier being constructed by Israel consisting of a network of fences with vehicle-barrier trenches surrounded by an on average 60 meters wide exclusion area (90%) and up to 8 meters high concrete walls (10%). It is located mainly within the West Bank, partly along the 1949 Armistice line, or "Green Line" between the West Bank and Israel. As of April 2006 the length of the barrier as approved by the Israeli government is 703 kilometers (436 miles) long. Approximately 58.04% has been constructed, 8.96% is under construction, and construction has not yet begun on 33% of the barrier. The Jerusalem Post reported in July, 2007 that the barrier may not be fully constructed until 2010, seven years after it was originally supposed to be completed.

The barrier is a highly controversial project. Supporters assert that the barrier is a necessary tool protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian terrorism, including suicide bombing attacks, that increased significantly during the al-Aqsa Intifada; it has helped to significantly reduce incidents of terrorism from 2002 to 2005; its supporters assert that the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism.

Opponents assert that the barrier is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security, violates international law, has the intent or effect to pre-empt final status negotiations, and severely restricts Palestinians who live nearby, particularly their ability to travel freely within the West Bank and to access work in Israel, thereby undermining their economy.

Pro-settler opponents claim that the barrier is a sly attempt to artificially create a border that excludes the settlers, creating "facts on the ground" that justify the mass dismantlement of hundreds of settlements and displacement of over 100,000 Jews from the land they claim as their biblical homeland.

A similar barrier, the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier, was constructed in 1994 largely on the 1949 armistice line between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and has been much less controversial.

Overview

Names of the barrier

The naming of the barrier is controversial. Israelis most commonly refer to the barrier as the "separation (hafrada) fence" (גדר ההפרדה, gader ha'hafrada or geder ha'hafrada) and "security fence" or "anti-terrorist fence", with "seam zone" referring to the land between the fence and the 1949 armistice lines.

Palestinians most commonly refer to the barrier in Arabic as "jidar al-fasl al-'unsuri", (racial segregation wall), and some opponents of the barrier refer to it in English as the "Apartheid Wall".

The International Court of Justice, in its advisory opinion on the barrier, wrote it had chosen to use the term “wall” as “the other expressions sometimes employed are no more accurate if understood in the physical sense.”

Sometimes various other names including separation/security and fence/wall/barrier are used.

History and stated purpose

The idea of creating a physical barrier between the Israeli and Palestinian populations was first proposed by Yitzhak Rabin in 1992, following the murder of an Israeli teenage girl in Jerusalem. Rabin said that Israel must "take Gaza out of Tel Aviv", in order to minimize friction between the peoples. Following an outbreak of violent incidents in Gaza in October 1994, Rabin announced his stance that "we have to decide on separation as a philosophy. There has to be a clear border. Without demarcating the lines, whoever wants to swallow 1.8 million Arabs will just bring greater support for Hamas."

To this end, the government of Yitzhak Rabin built the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier in 1994. Following an attack on HaSharon Junction, near the city of Netanya, Rabin made his goals more specific:

This path must lead to a separation, though not according to the borders prior to 1967. We want to reach a separation between us and them. We do not want a majority of the Jewish residents of the state of Israel, 98% of whom live within the borders of sovereign Israel, including a united Jerusalem, to be subject to terrorism.

In early 1995, the Shahal commission was established by Yitzhak Rabin to discuss how to implement a barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, prior to the Camp David 2000 Summit with Yasser Arafat, vowed to build a separation barrier, stating that it is "essential to the Palestinian nation in order to foster its national identity and independence without being dependent on the State of Israel".

The Israeli Supreme Court made reference to the conditions and history that led to the building of the barrier. In the September 2005 decision, it described the history of violence against Israeli citizens since the breakout of al-Aqsa Intifada and the loss of life that ensued on the Israeli side. The court ruling also cited the attempts Israel had made to defend its citizens, including "military operations" carried out against "terrorist acts", and stated that these actions...

...did not provide a sufficient answer to the immediate need to stop the severe acts of terrorism. . . . Despite all these measures, the terror did not come to an end. The attacks did not cease. Innocent people paid with both life and limb. This is the background behind the decision to construct the separation fence (Id., at p. 815)

Grassroots effort

In June 2001 a grass roots organization called "Fence for Life - The Public Movement for The Security Fence" began the grassroots effort for the construction of a continuous security fence. The movement was founded by people from all over Israel following the Dolphinarium massacre.

The goal of the Movement, is to encourage the government to construct a Security Fence along Israel's borders. "Fence for Life" urged the government to build a continuous Fence as speedily as possible, and without any connection to the political future of the areas it separates, with a goal of hermetically sealing off the Palestinian territories from Israeli population centers to prevent the terrorist acts by Palestinians against the people living in Israel.

From the very beginning of its public campaign , "Fence for Life" emphasized that any Security Fence has no connection whatsoever to the political future of the settlements. The Movement for the Security Fence for Israel included protests, demonstrations, conferences with public figures, media blitzes, lobbying in the Knesset as well as legal battles in the High Court of Justice, both with demands to quickly build the Security Fence as well as appeals not to cause further delay in construction. The Movement does not support any specific path for the Barrier, as this is subject to a government decision. "Fence for Life" was of the opinion that “politicization” of the Fence by various groups was delaying the completion of the Security Barrier and is likely to block its construction. At the end of 2002, due to government inaction, several localities who suffered the most from lack of a border barrier had started to build the barrier using their own funds directly on the green-line.

Government action

Although the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was initially hesitant to construct the barrier, he finally embraced the plan. The stated purpose of the barrier is to prevent terrorists from entering Israeli cities, a problem which has plagued Israel since the start of the Second Intifada. A secondary purpose of the barrier is to prevent illegal infiltrations by Palestinians, mainly illegal immigrants and car thieves. The Israeli government says that the high concrete portions are to protect cars and people on the Israeli side from gunfire. Many Israelis note the danger of terrorist incursions from the area, such as waves of suicide bombings in early 2002.

See also: List of massacres committed during the Al-Aqsa Intifada

According to Natan Sharansky, Minister of Housing and Construction at the time:

"When Israel's free society was defending itself against an unprecedented campaign of terror, most of the international community was calling for an end of the "cycle of violence" and a return to the negotiating table. When the Palestinian terrorists struck... Israel was condemned for imposing "collective punishment" on the Palestinian population. When Israel chose to target individual terrorists with precision air strikes, its actions were condemned as illegal extrajudicial assassinations. It seemed that in eyes of many, the Jews had a right to defend themselves in theory but could not exercise that right in practice... our government understood that there were three options to maintain an acceptable level of security for our citizens. The first was to wage a total war against Palestinian terror using weapons that would claim many innocent Palestinian lives. The second was to keep our reserves constantly mobilized to defend the country. The third option was to build the security fence. Had the Palestinian Authority become a partner in fighting terror, as it was obliged to do under all the agreements that it signed, none of these options would have become necessary."

Route and route timeline

The barrier generally runs along or near the 1949 Jordanian-Israeli armistice/Green Line, but diverges in many places to include on the Israeli side several of the highly populated areas of Jewish settlements in the West Bank such as East Jerusalem, Ariel, Gush Etzion, Emmanuel, Karnei Shomron, Givat Ze'ev, Oranit, and Maale Adumim. Because of the complex path it follows, most of the barrier is actually set in the West Bank. It diverges from the "Green Line" by anywhere from 200 meters to as much as 20 kilometers, with the result that many Israeli settlements in the West Bank remain on the Israeli side of the barrier, and some Palestinian towns are nearly encircled by it. Approximately 20% is actually on the Green Line. The proponents of the barrier claim that its route is not set in stone, as it was challenged in court and changed several times. They note that the cease-fire line of 1949 was negotiated "without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines" (Art. VI.9). Security experts argue that the topography does not permit putting the barrier along the Green Line in some places, because hills or tall buildings on the Palestinian side would make the barrier ineffective against terrorism. The International Court of Justice has countered that in such cases it is only legal to build the barrier inside Israel.

Israeli West Bank Barrier - North of Meitar, near the south west corner of the West Bank.

As of November 2003, the barrier extends inside most of the northwestern and western edges of the West Bank, sometimes close to the Green Line, and sometimes running further east. In some places there are also secondary barriers, creating a number of completely enclosed enclaves.

In February 2004, Israel said it would review the route of the barrier in response to U.S. and Palestinian concerns. In particular, Israeli cabinet members said modifications would be made to reduce the number of checkpoints Palestinians had to cross, and especially to reduce Palestinian hardship in areas such as Qalqilyah where the barrier goes very near, and in some cases nearly encircles, populated areas.

On June 30, 2004, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that a portion of the barrier west of Jerusalem violates the rights of Palestinians, and ordered 30 km of existing and planned barrier to be rerouted. However, it did rule that the barrier is legal in essence and accepted the Israeli government's claim that it is a security measure. On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion that it is a violation of international law. At the beginning of September 2004, Israel started the southern part of the barrier.

On February 20, 2005, the Israeli cabinet approved a new route. The new route is 681 kilometers and would leave approximately seven percent of the West Bank and 10,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side. (Map) Before that time, the exact route of the barrier had not been finalized, and it had been alleged by opponents that the barrier route would encircle the Samarian highlands of the West Bank, separating them from the Jordan valley.

Following a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, the route was again revised by a cabinet decision on April 30, 2006. The route now leaves fewer Palestinians and less West Bank land on the Israeli side of the barrier. In the Ariel area, the new route corrects an anomaly of the previous route that would have left thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side. The Alfei Menashe settlement bloc was reduced in size, and the new plan leaves three groups of Palestinian houses on the Palestinian side of the fence. The barrier's route in the Jerusalem area will leave Beit Iksa on the the Palestinian side; and Jaba on the Israeli side, but with a crossing to the Palestinian side at Tzurif. Further changes were made to the route around Eshkolot and Metzadot Yehuda, and the route from Metzadot to Har Choled was approved.

See also The 1949 Cease-fire line vs. the permanent border.

Structure

Most of the barrier (over 95% of total length) consists of a "multi-layered fence system" ideally 50 m in width. The IDF's preferred design has three fences, with pyramid-shaped stacks of barbed wire for the two outer fences and a lighter-weight fence with intrusion detection equipment in the middle. Patrol roads are provided on both sides of the middle fence, an anti-vehicle ditch is located on the West Bank side of the fence, and a smooth dirt strip on the Israeli side for "intrusion tracking".

Some sections (less than 5% of total length) are constructed as a wall made up of concrete slabs up to 8 m in height and 3 m in width. Occasionally, due to topographic conditions other sections of the barrier will reach up to 100 m in width. Wall construction (5%) is more common in urban settings, such as areas near Qalqilyah and Jerusalem, because it is narrower, requires less land, and provides more protection against snipers. In all cases there are regular observation posts, automated sensing devices and other apparatus. Gates at various points are controlled by Israeli soldiers.

Effects and consequences

Effects on Israeli security

Israeli statistics indicate that the barrier has drastically reduced the number of Palestinian infiltrations and suicide bombings and other attacks on civilians in Israel and in Israeli settlements, and Israeli officials assert that completion of the barrier will make it even more effective in stopping these attacks since "An absolute halt in terrorist activities has been noticed in the West Bank areas where the fence has been constructed".

Israeli officers, including the head of the Shin Bet, quoted in the newspaper Maariv, have claimed that in the areas where the barrier was complete, the number of hostile infiltrations has decreased to almost zero. Maariv also stated that Palestinian militants, including a senior member of Islamic Jihad, had confirmed that the barrier made it much harder to conduct attacks inside Israel. Since the completion of the fence in the area of Tulkarem and Qalqilyah in June 2003, there have been no successful attacks from those areas. All attacks were intercepted or the suicide bombers detonated prematurely.

There is general agreement that effects to date have coincided with improved Israeli security.

Effects on demography and asset values

According to a 2005 report published by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, the barrier being built around Jerusalem may have unintended effects on the city. According to the study, many Jerusalem Palestinians who were living in areas outside the barrier are now moving back into the city, creating housing shortages, increased real estate prices, and the phenomena of Palestinians moving into traditionally Jewish neighborhoods of the city.

Effects on Palestinians

The barrier has many effects on Palestinians including reduced freedoms, reduction of Israeli checkpoint and closures, loss of land, increased difficulty in accessing medical services in Israel, change in political tactics and strategy, and economic effects.

Reduced freedoms

In a recent report, the UN stated that:

...it is difficult to overstate the humanitarian impact of the Barrier. The route inside the West Bank severs communities, people’s access to services, livelihoods and religious and cultural amenities. In addition, plans for the Barrier’s exact route and crossing points through it are often not fully revealed until days before construction commences. This has led to considerable anxiety amongst Palestinians about how their future lives will be impacted...The land between the Barrier and the Green Line constitutes some of the most fertile in the West Bank. It is currently the home for 49,400 West Bank Palestinians living in 38 villages and towns.

An often-quoted example of the effects of the barrier is the Palestinian town of Qalqilyah, a city of around 45,000, where an 8 meter-high concrete section is built on the Green Line between the city and the nearby Trans-Israel Highway. The wall in this section, referred to as an "anti-sniper wall," has been claimed to prevent gun attacks against Israeli motorists and the Israeli town of Kfar Saba, which runs for more than 3 kilometers to the west of the city along the Green Line. The barrier, in the form of a series of razor wire fences and trenches, also dips beyond the Green Line to encircle Qalqilyah from northern and southern sides. The city is accessible through a main road from the east, and an underground tunnel built in September 2004 on the south side connects Qalqilyah with the adjacent village of Habla which has been cut off by another barrier. Recently, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the government to change the route of the barrier in this area to ease movement of Palestinians between Qalqilyah and 5 surrounding villages. In the same ruling, the court rejected the arguments that the fence must be built only on the Green Line. The ruling cited the topography of the terrain, security considerations, and sections 43 and 52 of The Hague Regulations 1907 and Article 53 of the 4th Geneva Convention as reasons for this rejection.

A Palestinian farmer tending his crops near the barrier (August 2004).

In early October 2003, the IDF OC Central Command declared the area between the separation barrier in the northern section of the West Bank (Stage 1) and the Green Line a closed military area for an indefinite period of time. New directives stated that every Palestinian over the age of twelve living in the enclaves created in the closed area have to obtain a “permanent resident permit” from the Civil Administration to enable them to continue to live in their homes. Other residents of the West Bank have to obtain special permits to enter the area.

Decreased checkpoints and closures

In June 2004, the Washington Times reported that the reduced need for Israeli military incursions in Jenin have prompted efforts to rebuild damaged streets and buildings and a gradual return to a semblance of normalcy, and in a letter dated October 25, 2004, from the Israeli mission to Kofi Annan, Israel's government pointed out that a number of restrictions east of the barrier have been lifted as a result of the barrier, including a reduction in checkpoints from 71 to 47 and roadblocks from 197 to 111. The Jerusalem Post reports that, for some Palestinians who are Israeli citizens living in the Israeli Arab town of Umm el-Fahm (pop. 42,000) near Jenin, the barrier has "significantly improved their lives" because, on one hand, it prevents would-be thieves or terrorists from coming to their town and, on the other hand, has increased the flow of customers from other parts of Israel who would normally have patronised Palestinian business in the West Bank, resulting in an economic boon. The report states that the downsides are that the barrier has divided families in half and "damaged Israeli Arabs' solidarity with the Palestinians living on the other side of the Green Line".

A UN report released in August 2005 observed that the existence of the barrier "replaced the need for closures: movement within the northern West Bank, for example, is less restrictive where the Barrier has been constructed. Physical obstacles have also been removed in Ramallah and Jerusalem governorates where the Barrier is under construction." The report notes that more freedom of movement in rural areas may ease Palestinian access to hospitals and schools, but also notes that restrictions on movement between urban population centers have not significantly changed.

Loss of land

See also: Seam Zone

Parts of the barrier are built on land confiscated from Palestinians. In a recent report, the UN noted that the most recent barrier route allocates more segments to be built on the Green Line itself compared to previous draft routes of the barrier.

As of May 2004, the fence construction had already uprooted an estimated 102,320 Palestinian olive and citrus trees, demolished 75 acres (0.3 km²) of greenhouses and 23 miles (37 km) of irrigation pipes. At that point, it rested on 15,000 dunums (3,705 acres or 15 km²) of confiscated land, only meters away from a number of small villages, or hamlets. In early 2003, in order to move a section of the barrier to the Green Line, a ramshackle mall of 63 shops straddling that line into Israel was demolished by the IDF in the village of Nazlat Issa . In August of that year, an additional 115 shops/stalls (an important source of income for several communities) and five to seven homes were also demolished there. The Israeli Government has promised that trees affected by the construction will be replanted.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), 15 communities were to be directly affected, numbering approximately 138,593 Palestinians, including 13,450 refugee families, or 67,250 individuals. In addition to loss of land, in the city of Qalqilyah one-third of the city's water wells lie on the other side of the barrier. The Israeli Supreme Court notes the Israeli government's rejection of accusations of a de facto annexation of these wells, stating that "the construction of the fence does not affect the implementation of the water agreements determined in the (interim) agreement".

Health and medical services

Medecins du Monde, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel have stated that the barrier 'harms West Bank health'. Upon completion of the construction, the organizations predict, the barrier would prevent over 130,000 Palestinian children from being immunised, and deny more than 100,000 pregnant women (out of which 17,640 are high risk pregnancies) access to healthcare in Israel. In addition, almost a third of West Bank villages will suffer from lack of access to healthcare. After completion, many residents may lose complete access to emergency care at night. In towns near Jerusalem (Abu Dis and Aizaria), for example, average time for an ambulance to travel to the nearest hospital has increased from 10 minutes to over 110 minutes.

A report from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also states that the barrier imposes "almost-total separation" on the hospitals from the population they are supposed to serve. The report also noted that patients from the West Bank visiting Jerusalem's Palestinian clinics declined by half from 2002 to 2003.

Change in tactics and strategy

Members of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been less able to conduct terrorist attacks, the numbers of which have decreased in areas where the barrier has been completed. Daniel Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States, suggested that reduced ability to conduct terrorist attacks would "save the political process" because the barrier would neutralize the ability of terrorist groups "to hold that process hostage" by conducting these devastating acts.

In his interview to Al-Manar TV, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Salah admitted that the barrier is an important obstacle, and that "if it weren’t there, the situation would be entirely different."

File:WestBankGDP3.png
Figure 1: Real Annual GDP Growth, West Bank. Source: CIA World Factbook, World Bank

Economic changes

Real GDP growth in the West Bank increased modestly in 2003, 2004, and 2005 after declining in 2000, 2001, and 2002 (see Figure 1). However, these drops in economic productivity are in part a result of the Israeli occupation and roadblocks and thus started even before the construction of the barrier began. In 2005, the PNA Ministry of Finance cited the 2003 "construction of the separation wall" as one reason for the depressed Palestinian economic activity.

According to the Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) and other sources, 45% of Qalqilyah's farmland now lie outside the barrier, and farmers require permits from Israeli authorities to access their lands that are on the opposite side. There are three gates in the barrier for the purpose of admitting farmers with permits to their fields that are open 3 times a day for a total of 50 minutes, although according to the NAD they have often been arbitrarily closed for extended periods leading to loss of crops, and one of these gates has been closed since August 2004 due to a suicide attack that took place near the gate. The Israeli Human Rights center B'Tselem notes that "thousands of Palestinians have difficulty going to their fields and marketing their produce in other areas of the West Bank. Farming is a primary source of income in the Palestinian communities situated along the Barrier's route, an area that constitutes one of the most fertile areas in the West Bank. The harm to the farming sector is liable to have drastic economic effects on the residents – whose economic situation is already very difficult – and drive many families into poverty".

A 2007 World Bank report concluded that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, which the barrier delineates and reinforces, has destroyed the Palestinian economy, in violation of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access. All major roads (with a total length of 700 km) are basically off-limits to Palestinians, making it impossible to do normal business. Economic recovery would reduce Palestinian dependence on international aid by one billion dollars per year.

Legal issues

Israeli Supreme Court Rulings

Main article: Israeli West Bank Barrier, Israeli Supreme Court Opinions

On two occasions the Israeli government has been instructed by the Supreme Court of Israel to alter the route of the barrier to ensure that negative impacts on Palestinians would be minimized and proportional.

United Nations and International Court of Justice

See also: International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict

In 2004, the United Nations passed a number of resolutions and the International Court of Justice, following hearings in which Israel did not participate, issued a non-binding "advisory opinion" calling for the barrier to be removed and the Arab residents to be compensated for any damage done: "The Court finds that the construction by Israel of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and its associated régime are contrary to international law". Israel had submitted a document stating that it did not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICJ and supporting its claim that the issue of the barrier is political and not under the authority of the ICJ.

Opinions on the barrier

Israeli opinions

Israeli public opinion has been very strongly in favor of the barrier, partly in the hope that it will improve security and partly in the belief that the barrier marks the eventual border of a Palestinian state. Due to the latter possibility, the settler movement opposes the barrier, although this opposition has waned since it became clear the barrier would be diverted to the east of major Israeli settlements such as Ariel. According to Haaretz, a survey conducted by of the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, Tel Aviv University, there is an overwhelming support for the barrier among the Jewish population of Israel: 84% on March 2004 and 78% on June 2004.

Most Israelis believe the barrier and intensive activity by the Israel Defense Forces to be the main factors in the decrease in successful suicide attack from the West Bank. The proponents of the barrier insist that reversible inconveniences to Palestinians should be balanced with the threats to lives of Israeli civilians and point out that the barrier is a non-violent way to stop terrorism and save innocent lives.

However, there are some Israelis who oppose the barrier. Col. (res.) Shaul Arieli, who was the last commander of the Gaza regional brigade of the IDF, has stated that the effectiveness of the barrier will only be short-term. "The fence provides a partial security response to the terror threats and a good response to prevention of illegal immigration and prevention of criminal acts," he explains, "but on the other hand, in its current format it creates the future terror infrastructure because this terror infrastructure is precisely those people living in enclaves who will support acts of terror as the only possible tool that they perceive as being able to restore them the land, production sources and water wells taken from them." Arieli also said that the barrier is designed to induce the Arabs of the border region to leave so that Israel can expand.

Additionally, many Israelis living in settlements, such as the Gush Etzion area, oppose the fence because it separates them from the rest of Israel. They argue that building the fence defines a border, and that they are being left out. According to most settlers, all of the West Bank belongs to Israel, and separating any of it with a fence is the first step in giving the land away.


Some Israeli left wing activists, such as Anarchists Against the Wall and Gush Shalom are active in protests against the barrier, especially in the West Bank towns of Bil'in and Jayyous.

Palestinian opinions

The Palestinian population and its leadership are essentially unanimous in opposing the barrier. A significant number of Palestinians have been separated from their own farmlands or their places of work or study, and many more will be separated as the barriers near Jerusalem are completed. Furthermore, because of its planned route as published by the Israeli government, the barrier is perceived as a plan to confine the Palestinian population to specific areas, causing further humiliation. They state that Palestinian institutions in Abu Dis will be prevented from providing services to residents in the East Jerusalem suburbs, and that a 10-minute walk has become a 3-hour drive in order to reach a gate, to go (if allowed) through a crowded military checkpoint, and drive back to the destination on the other side.

More broadly, Palestinian spokespersons, supported by many in the Israeli left wing and other organizations, claim that the hardships imposed by the barrier will breed further discontent amongst the affected population and add to the security problem rather than solving it.

On April 14, 2004, American President George W. Bush said "In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949, and all previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion.” In direct reaction to Bush's comments, the leadership of the Palestinian National Authority accused the U.S. of rewarding construction of the barrier and replied, "he US assurances are being made at the expense of the Palestinian people and the Arab world without the knowledge of the legitimate Palestinian leadership. They are rewarding illegal occupation, settlement and the apartheid wall."

International opinions

See also: Road map for peace

Some international governments agree that Israel should have the right to self-defense, but oppose the construction of the barrier outside the 1949 armistice lines as a violation of Palestinian rights.

In October 2003, a United Nations resolution to declare the barrier illegal where it deviates from the green line and should be torn down was vetoed by the US in the United Nations Security Council. In December 2003, it was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (with four votes against). Consequently, the International Court of Justice was asked for an advisory judgement. It concluded that the barrier violated international law. On 20 July 2004, the UN General Assembly accepted another resolution condemning the barrier with 150 countries voted for the resolution. Only 6 countries voted against: Israel, the US, Australia, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. The US and Israel rejected both the verdict and the resolution. All 25 members of the European Union voted in favour of the resolution after it was amended to include calls for Israelis and Palestinians to meet their obligations under the "roadmap" peace plan.

On March 8, 2005 the United Nations held a two day International Meeting on the Question of Palestine. The participants of this meeting released a final document that, among other things, expressed serious concern at the Israeli government's continuation of barrier construction, which they believe violates international law. The participants called on the international community "to adopt measures that would persuade the Government of Israel to comply with international law and the ruling of the International Court of Justice".

The Red Cross has decared the barrier in violation of the Geneva Convention. On February 18, 2004, The International Committee of the Red Cross stated that the Israeli barrier "causes serious humanitarian and legal problems" and goes "far beyond what is permissible for an occupying power".

On February 20, 2004 the World Council of Churches adopted a statement demanding that Israel halt and reverse construction on the barrier and strongly condemning what they believe to be violations of human rights and humanitarian consequences that have resulted due to construction of the barrier. While acknowledging Israel's serious security concerns and asserting that the construction of the barrier on its own territory would not have been a violation of international law, the statement rejected what it saw as the creation of a new political boundary that confiscates Palestinian land.

On July 25, 2003, President George W. Bush said "I think the wall is a problem. And I discussed this with Ariel Sharon. It is very difficult to develop confidence between the Palestinians and Israel with a wall snaking through the West Bank." The following year, addressing the issue of the barrier as a future border, he said in a letter to Sharon on April 14 2004 that it "should be a security rather than political barrier, should be temporary rather than permanent and therefore not prejudice any final status issues including final borders, and its route should take into account, consistent with security needs, its impact on Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities." President Bush reiterated this position during a May 26, 2005 joint press conference with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the Rose Garden.

On November 13, 2005 U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said that she supports the separation barrier Israel is building along the edges of the West Bank, and that the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism. "This is not against the Palestinian people," Clinton, a New York Democrat, said during a tour of a section of the barrier being built around Jerusalem. "This is against the terrorists. The Palestinian people have to help to prevent terrorism. They have to change the attitudes about terrorism."

File:Rockboy.jpg
Example of Banksy's artwork on the Palestinian side of the barrier.

In January 2006, a report from John Dugard, an international law professor, serving as a Special Rapporteur for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights declared that:

"The character of East Jerusalem is undergoing a major change as a result of the construction of the wall through Palestinian neighbourhoods. The clear purpose of the wall in the Jerusalem area is to reduce the number of Palestinians in the city by transferring them to the West Bank. This causes major humanitarian problems: families are separated and access to hospitals, schools and the workplace are denied. In November 2005, European Union missions in Jerusalem issued a report in which they accused Israel of embarking on the encirclement of the city by the wall in order to achieve 'the completion of the annexation of Jerusalem'."

Graffiti on the Palestinian side of walled sections of the barrier has consistently been one of many forms of protest against its existence. Large areas of the walls feature messages relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, demanding an end to the barrier, or criticizing its builders and its existence ('Welcome to the Ghetto-Abu Dis'). In August 2005, a U.K. graffiti artist named Banksy painted nine images on the Palestinian side of the barrier. He describes the barrier as "the ultimate activity holiday destination for graffiti writers". On 21 june 2006, Roger Waters wrote "Tear down the wall" on the wall, a phrase from the Pink Floyd song Another brick in the wall.

Borders opinions

Some speculate that because sections of the barrier are built not along the Green Line but in the West Bank, the real purpose is to acquire territory. Some people describe the barrier as the de facto future border of the State of Israel. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, has said that the barrier has "unilaterally helped to demarcate the route for future Israeli control over huge West Bank settlement blocks and large swathes of West Bank land". According to B'Tselem, "the overall features of the separation barrier and the considerations that led to determination of the route give the impression that Israel is relying on security arguments to unilaterally establish facts on the ground ..." Chris McGreal in The Guardian writes that the barrier is, "evidently intended to redraw Israel's borders". Some have speculated that the barrier will prejudice the outcome of border negotiations in favor of the Israelis.

Yossi Klein Halevi, Israeli correspondent for The New Republic, writes of the barrier that "uilding over the green line, by contrast, reminds Palestinians that every time they've rejected compromise—whether in 1937, 1947, or 2000—the potential map of Palestine shrinks... The fence is a warning: If Palestinians don't stop terrorism and forfeit their dream of destroying Israel, Israel may impose its own map on them... and, because Palestine isn't being restored but invented, its borders are negotiable."

On March 9, 2006, The New York Times reported then acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as saying that if his Kadima party wins the upcoming national elections, he would seek to set Israel's permanent borders by 2010, and that the boundary would run along or close to the barrier.

"Apartheid" opinions

Main article: Allegations of Israeli apartheid

Some opponents of the barrier claim that building and maintaining the wall is a crime of apartheid - isolating Palestinian communities in the West Bank and consolidating the annexation of Palestinian land by Israeli settlements. However, this is strongly disputed by others. For more information see Allegations of Israeli Apartheid.

See also

References

  1. A newer map is available here
  2. ^ "Israel High Court Ruling Docket H.C.J. 7957/04: International Legality of the Security Fence and Sections near Alfei Menashe". Supreme Court of Israel. September 15, 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Separation Barrier: Statistics". B'Tselem. 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. Lazaroff, Tova (July 10, 2007). "Fence to be completed only by 2010". The Jerusalem Post. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accesdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. "Questions and Answers". Israel’s Security Fence. The State of Israel. February 22, 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-17. The Security Fence is being built with the sole purpose of saving the lives of the Israeli citizens who continue to be targeted by the terrorist campaign that began in 2000. The fact that over 800 men, women and children have been killed in horrific suicide bombings and other terror attacks clearly justifies the attempt to place a physical barrier in the path of terrorists. It should be noted that terrorism has been defined throughout the international community as a crime against humanity. As such, the State of Israel not only has the right but also the obligation to do everything in its power to lessen the impact and scope of terrorism on the citizens of Israel. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Nissenbaum, Dion (January 10, 2007). "Death toll of Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians hit a low in 2006". Washington Bureau. McClatchy Newspapers. Retrieved 2007-04-16. Israel's summer war with Hezbollah in the north and small rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip in the south have overshadowed a striking reality: Fewer Israeli civilians died in Palestinian attacks in 2006 than in any year since the Palestinian uprising began in 2000. Palestinian militants killed 23 Israelis and foreign visitors in 2006, down from a high of 289 in 2002 during the height of the uprising. Most significant, successful suicide bombings in Israel nearly came to a halt. Last year, only two Palestinian suicide bombers managed to sneak into Israel for attacks that killed 11 people and wounded 30 others. Israel has gone nearly nine months without a suicide bombing inside its borders, the longest period without such an attack since 2000.…An Israeli military spokeswoman said one major factor in that success had been Israel's controversial separation barrier, a still-growing 250-mile network of concrete walls, high-tech fencing and other obstacles that cuts through parts of the West Bank. 'The security fence was put up to stop terror, and that's what it's doing,' said Capt. Noa Meir, a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces.…Opponents of the wall grudgingly acknowledge that it's been effective in stopping bombers, though they complain that its route should have followed the border between Israel and the Palestinian territories known as the Green Line. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. Galili, Lily (November 13, 2005). "Sen. Clinton: I support W. Bank fence, PA must fight terrorism". Haaretz. Retrieved 2007-04-16. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton said Sunday that she supports the separation fence Israel is building along the edges of the West Bank, and that the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism. 'This is not against the Palestinian people,' Clinton, a New York Democrat, said during a tour of a section of the barrier being built around Jerusalem. 'This is against the terrorists. The Palestinian people have to help to prevent terrorism. They have to change the attitudes about terrorism.' Clinton's comments echoed Israel's position that the Palestinians must crack down on militants or Israel will find ways to prevent attacks on its citizens. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. "Under the Guise of Security: Routing the Separation Barrier to Enable Israeli Settlement Expansion in the West Bank". Publications. B'Tselem. 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-16. The fact that the Separation Barrier cuts into the West Bank was and remains the main cause of human rights violations of Palestinians living near the Barrier. Israel contends that the Barrier's route is based solely on security considerations. This report disputes that contention and proves that one of the primary reasons for choosing the route of many sections of the Barrier was to place certain areas intended for settlement expansion on the "Israeli" side of the Barrier. In some of the cases, for all intents and purposes the expansion constituted the establishment of a new settlement. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. "U.N. court rules West Bank barrier illegal". CNN. July 9, 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-16. The International Court of Justice has said the barrier Israel is building to seal off the West Bank violates international law because it infringes on the rights of Palestinians. In an advisory opinion issued Friday in The Hague, the U.N. court urged the Israelis to remove it from occupied land. The nonbinding opinion also found that Israel was obligated to return confiscated land or make reparations for any destruction or damage to homes, businesses and farms caused by the barrier's construction. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Bedell, Geraldine (June 15, 2003). "Set in stone". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-16. The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, preoccupied with the road map and its own internal politics, 'has neglected the wall,' according to Jamal Juma. Yet the wall is crucial to the road map. At the very least, it is an attempt to preempt negotiations with a land grab that establishes new borders (and what the road map calls 'facts on the ground' that must be heeded). Arguably it is more devious: an attempt to undermine negotiations altogether - because what Palestinian Authority could sign up to the fragmented 'state' the wall will create? {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Guard-Stone1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. "Building the Ghetto Wall of Auschwitz". Media Releases - June 2002. Women In Green. June 21, 2002. Retrieved 2007-04-16. Women In Green will demonstrate at the Rose Garden in Jerusalem during the time the Cabinet is in session on Sunday, June 23, 2002 at 9 A.M. against the building of a ghetto wall in the heartland of historic Israel. The futile act is one that disgraces the dignity and nobility of the Jewish People, and makes a mockery of its basic national aspirations. Such a wall or fence will not provide the security that it is supposed to bring. The Arabs who live in our midst have to make an immediate decision. Either they wish to live in peace amongst us, or they must leave and return to the surrounding Arab countries from which they emigrated to the Promised Land. It is the whole Arab populace that delights in murder and mayhem, and have done so for the years that they have been here. They can no longer extol those who murder and are suicide bombers, and U.S. President Bush, or anyone else should not have double standards, and have Israel tolerate the hostile positions of the Arabs. The Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish People as the Bible and the God of Israel has indicated. If the Arabs wish to live in a Jewish State under Israel sovereignty, they must do so in a peaceful and tolerant manner. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. "The apartheid wall". Al Jazeera. December 08, 2003. Retrieved 2007-04-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Advisory Opinion". Cases. International Court of Justice. July 9, 2004. Archived from the original on Unknown. Retrieved 2007-04-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |archivedate= (help)
  14. ^ Makovsky, David (2004). "How to Build a Fence". Foreign Affairs. 83 (2): 50–64. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 2007-04-16. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. Ratner, David (February 12, 2002). "Gilboa towns build DIY separation fence". Haaretz. Retrieved 2007-04-16. Residents in the Gilboa region waited two years for a separation fence to be built. Now, after having sent repeated entreaties to the government and having received assorted, unfulfilled promises, they have decided to 'take the law into their own hands,' and build the fence themselves. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. Natan Sharansky: The Case for Democracy p.214
  17. "Palestinians: Israel hands out land confiscation notices". CNN. November 7, 2003. Retrieved 2007-04-16. The West Bank barrier generally runs close to the pre-1967 Mideast war border -- the so-called Green Line -- but dips into the West Bank to include some Jewish settlements. Israel says a new section will extend deep into the West Bank, surrounding several West Bank towns. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/659581cf3863644f85256fbf0068c624!OpenDocument
  19. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/arm03.htm
  20. http://www.mideastweb.org/thefence.htm
  21. http://www.arij.org/paleye/Segregation-Wall/7.5%20The%20full%20extent%20of%20the%20segregation%20Zones%20in%20the%20West%20Bank.pdf
  22. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/israel-cabinet-approves-changes-to.php
  23. http://www.seamzone.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/images/Seamzone_map_eng.jpg
  24. http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/WB_Barrier_Overview_Changes_July06.pdf
  25. http://www.seamzone.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/news.htm#news45
  26. http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/operational.htm
  27. http://www.nad-plo.org/palisraeli/wall/related/bwall.pdf
  28. http://securityfence.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/48152.doc
  29. http://www.nclci.org/news/terrorism_news.htm
  30. "Is the fence effective?". Israel’s Security Fence: Questions and Answers. The State of Israel. February 22, 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-20. Members of Palestinian terror infrastructure caught and questioned disclosed the fact that the existence of the Security Fence in the Samaria area forces them to find of other means to perform terror attacks since their previous entry to Israel is blocked. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=632264
  32. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHABarRprt05_Full.pdf
  33. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3111159.stm
  34. http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/maps/210.shtml
  35. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/maps/barrier/BrrWBN_gates0305.pdf
  36. http://www.nad-plo.org/images/maps/pdf/qalqilia.pdf
  37. http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20040624-112922-9037r.htm
  38. http://www.israel-un.org/committees/duggardrprt.htm
  39. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer&cid=1087441302553
  40. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/ochaHU0805_En.pdf
  41. http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/11/05/mideast
  42. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3111159.stm
  43. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHABarRprt05_Full.pdf
  44. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/Barrierupdate7mar04.pdf
  45. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C10FE3B540C718EDDA80894DB404482
  46. http://www.unitedjerusalem.org/index2.asp?id=221525&Date=1/22/2003
  47. http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=2401&CategoryId=4
  48. http://www.palestinemonitor.org/factsheet/wall_fact_sheet.htm
  49. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Saving%20Lives-%20Israel-s%20anti-terrorist%20fence%20-%20Answ
  50. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4268079.stm
  51. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7488/381
  52. http://www.phr.org.il/phr/files/articlefile_1134502825051.doc
  53. Israel’s Security Fence (Jewish Virtual Library)
  54. Israel's ambassador defends security fence by Daniel Ayalon (The Washington Times) August 26, 2003
  55. Bulletin on November 11, PIJ leader Abdallah Ramadan Shalah interview to Al-Manar TV (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)). November 15, 2006
  56. http://web.archive.org/web/20031002012749/http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html
  57. http://www.miftah.org/display.cfm?DocId=1754&CategoryId=4
  58. http://www.nad-plo.org/facts/wall/WallMagazine%207-2005.pdf
  59. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/750/focus.htm
  60. http://www.btselem.org/English/Separation_Barrier/index.asp
  61. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4830654.stm
  62. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/WestBankrestrictions9Mayfinal.pdf
  63. http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/04/560/020/a28/04020560.a28.pdf
  64. http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/04/570/079/a14/04079570.a14.pdf
  65. http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/85255e950050831085255e95004fa9c3/3740e39487a5428a85256ecc005e157a!OpenDocument
  66. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=402996&contrassID=1
  67. Haaretz, February 18, 2004
  68. http://www.awalls.org/
  69. http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/video/bilin-2006-01-20/
  70. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/09/MNGIP5H0IL1.DTL
  71. http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=248438
  72. http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde150162004
  73. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040414-4.html
  74. http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000244.htm
  75. "U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution on Israeli wall". St. Petersburg Times. October 15, 2003. Retrieved 05.21.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  76. ^ International Court of Justice (December 19, 2003). "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory". UNISPAL. Retrieved 05.21.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 49 (help)
  77. International Court of Justice (July 9, 2004). "Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Advisory Opinion". Paris 2. Retrieved 05.21.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  78. ^ "UN Assembly votes overwhelmingly to demand Israel comply with ICJ ruling". United Nations News Centre. July 20, 2004. Retrieved 05.21.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  79. "UN demands Israel scrap barrier". BBC. July 21, 2004. Retrieved 05.21.2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  80. http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/bcb37133df60c4e085256fc400757804!OpenDocument
  81. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3498795.stm
  82. http://www.eappi.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/pu-04-11.html
  83. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030725-6.html
  84. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3111159.stm
  85. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050526.html
  86. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--israel-hillarycli1113nov13,0,3107956.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
  87. "Question of the Violation of Human Rights in the Occupied Arab Territories, Including Palestine - Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, John Dugard, on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967
  88. http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/horizontal_1.htm
  89. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5104930.stm
  90. http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/summaries/200512_Under_the_Guise_of_Seurity.asp
  91. http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=20050422063320440
  92. http://www.btselem.org/English/Separation_Barrier/index.asp
  93. ^ McGreal, Chris (October 18, 2005). "Israel redraws the roadmap, building quietly and quickly". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-04-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  94. http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=8002&CategoryId=3
  95. http://www.travelbrochuregraphics.com/extra/fenced_in.htm
  96. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/international/middleeast/09cnd-mideast.html?ex=1299560400&en=f7a513d8dac15769&ei=5088&partner
  97. [http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/sc7895.doc.htm Press Release SC/7895], UN Security Council meeting, where the Observer for the Organization of the Islamic Conference says "the form of apartheid Israel practised against Palestinians fulfilled all elements of the crime as defined under the 1976 apartheid Convention", 14 October 2003

External links

General News Resources

Israeli government and courts

United Nations and International Court of Justice Rulings

Links in opposition to the barrier

Links in favor of the barrier

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