Israeli West Bank barrier

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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%).<ref>Israel High Court Ruling Docket H.C.J. 7957/04</ref> It is located partly within the West Bank, partly along the 1949 Armistice line, or "Green Line" between the West Bank and Israel.

The barrier is a very controversial project. Supporters claim the barrier (i) is a necessary tool protecting Israeli civilians from what they see as Palestinian terrorism, including suicide bombing attacks, that increased significantly during the al-Aqsa Intifada [1][2]; and (ii) has helped reduce incidents of terrorism by 90% from 2002 to 2005.<ref>Wall Street Journal, "After Sharon", January 6, 2006.</ref>

Opponents claim the barrier (i) is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security;<ref>Under the Guise of Security, B'Tselem]</ref> (ii) violates international law;<ref>"U.N. court rules West Bank barrier illegal" (CNN)</ref> (iii) has the intent or effect to pre-empt final status negotiations;<ref>Set in stone, The Guardian, June 15, 2003</ref> and (iv) 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.<ref>The West Bank Wall - Unmaking Palestine</ref>

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.

1 Overview
2 Effects and Consequences
3 Legal issues
- 3.1 Israeli Supreme Court Rulings
- 3.2 United Nations and International Court of Justice
4 Opinions on the barrier
5 See also
6 Further reading
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Overview

[edit] Names of the barrier

The naming of the barrier is controversial. Israel most commonly refers to the barrier as the "separation fence" (גדר ההפרדה, gader ha'hafrada (help·info) 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" (help·info), (racial segregation wall <ref> The root of the classical Arabic word "jidar" means "structure of height" that one can either climb or hide behind. Therefore, its translation into other languages is based on context, and can be translated as "wall", "barrier", "fence", or rarely "dam". </ref>), and some opponents of the barrier refer to it in English as the "Apartheid Wall".<ref>[3], [4], [5]</ref>.

The International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion on the barrier wrote that "fence" and "barrier" are "no more accurate" than "wall" but has "chosen to use the terminology ['wall'] employed by the General Assembly."<ref>Legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territories</ref>

Sometimes various other names including separation/security and fence/wall/barrier are used.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History and stated purpose

Image:West Bank Fence South Hebron.JPG Since its inception, Israel has erected physical barriers as a means of protection against fedayeen and guerrilla attacks.^{[citation needed]} 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." [6]

To this end, the government of Yitzhak Rabin built the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier in 1994. Following an attack on Bet Lid, 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". [1, p54]

Israeli Supreme Court made reference to the conditions and history that led to the building of the barrier. In the September 2005 decision [7], 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)

[edit] Grassroots effort

In June 2001 a grass roots organization called "Fence for Life - The Public Movement for The Security Fence" [8] 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 center 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 have started to build the barrier using their own funds directly on the green-line. [9]

[edit] Government action

Although at the beginning the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was hesitant to construct the barrier, it 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 Netanya suicide attack).

[edit] Route and Route Timeline

The barrier generally runs along or near the 1949 Jordanian-Israeli armistice/Green Line, but diverges in many places [10] 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 [11] and 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.[12]. 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) [13]. 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. [14]. The International Court of Justice has countered that in such cases it is only legal to build the barrier inside Israel.

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 near 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 18, 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: [15] 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 West Bank, separating it from the Jordan valley [16].

As of January 2006, approximately 31% has been constructed; another 16.5% is under construction; 43% has been approved and the remaining 9.5% requires final approval.

A report published by Human rights group B'Tselem claims that the route was not chosen based on correct security claims and includes an area designated for expansion of settlements. The Human rights groups demanded a halt to West Bank fence construction, dismantling of sections not built along Green Line. A B'Tselem member was quoted saying: ‘Report shows that not only were security reasons secondary in many areas, but in places where security and settlements traverse each other, the planners chose a route which includes an area designated for expansion of settlements.' One of the areas cited by the report is north of the city of Qalqilyah (or Kalkilia) (see Israeli West Bank barrier#Effects on Palestinians which is a subject of new petition filled with Israeli supreme court. As a result of past rulings by the court, especially Israeli West Bank barrier#Israeli Supreme Court decision of 2005) the government announce a plan to shorten a 9.5 Km section of the route to 1350 meters in a way that it would prevent much of the damage to Palestinian agriculture in the area around Kalkilia. Over 800 Dunams (800,000 m²) that were on the Israeli side of the fence will be returned to the Palestinians side.

[edit] 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 (controlled by a command and control system built by Elbit) in the middle. Patrol roads are provided on both sides of the middle fence, an anti-vehicle ditch is provided on the West Bank side of the fence, and a smooth dirt strip on the Israeli side for "intrusion tracking" is provided.

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.[17] 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. The total length as officially authorized by the end of 2003 will be 650 km (403 miles).

Three companies were approved by the Israel Defense Forces to provide intrusion detection in the seam zone along the barrier. The companies had to go through several years of testing by the Israel Defense Forces to be eligible. Magal Security Systems will provide detection along a central section (Salem towards Elkana) and Elbit Systems, together with the American company Detektion, won a contract for the northern and southern sections of Jerusalem. The Magal Security Systems portion of the contract was worth $4.2 million USD.<ref>Magal Security Systems, Ltd. (August 4, 2005). Magal Reports a US$4.2 Million Order for Israeli Seam Line Project. Retrieved on 2006-09-06.</ref>

[edit] Effects and Consequences

[edit] 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 [18] since "An absolute halt in terrorist activities has been noticed in the West Bank areas where the fence has been constructed". [19]

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 have been intercepted or the suicide bombers have detonated prematurely. [1, p56]

During the twelve month period from August 2003 to July 2004 three suicide bombers launched attacks from areas where the fence has been completed which resulted in no deaths or injuries. In contrast during the preceding twelve months, from September 2002 to August 2003, 73 attacks were successfully carried out from these areas, in which 293 Israelis were killed and 1,950 were wounded. The decrease in casualties was not due to a decrease in attempted terrorist attacks; from August 2003 to July 2004 Israeli security forces prevented dozens of planned attacks in the final stages of their implementation and uncovered 24 explosive belts and charges intended to be used for these attacks. From July 2004 to October 2004 only one suicide bombing has resulted in casualties in areas where the barrier has been built. [20]

There is general agreement that effects to date have coincided with improved Israeli security. The cease-fire agreement of December 2005 has naturally led to a decrease in Palestinian militant attacks and has offered less opportunities for Israel to test the barrier's efficacy. The Palestinian NGO MIFTA speculates that long-term effects will create more Palestinian hostility towards Israel and that the current security benefits will be "only an illusion": "although the wall may give some immediate relief from the relentless series of terrorist attacks inflicted on the state and people of Israel, building the fence on Palestinian territory will inflame tensions in the region and do nothing to solve the crisis. ... it will give only an illusion of security to the people of Israel in the longer term." [21] On the other hand, Israeli Ambassador to U.S. Daniel Ayalon speculates that the barrier will "save the political process" and lead to long-term security because otherwise "terrorist groups have the ability to hold that process hostage because of their capability to conduct these devastating acts." [22] Lt. Col. Dotan Razili of the Israeli Defense Forces speculates that the long-term effects of a security barrier around the West Bank will be similar to the long-term security effects of the security barrier around Gaza. In an interview on the PBS program The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, he says that "we have experience in other borders... since 1996 if I'm not mistaken, no suicide bombers went out of the Gaza because we have fenced it." [23]

[edit] 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 sprawling of Palestinians into traditionally Jewish neighborhoods of the city. [24]

[edit] Effects on Palestinians

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

[edit] Reduced Freedoms

In its most recent report, the UN states 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 [25]

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 is referred to as a "sniper wall" claimed to prevent gun attacks against Israeli motorists and the Israeli town of Kfar Saba [26] 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 wires and trenches, also dips beyond the Green Line to encircle Qalqilyah from northern and southern sides [27] [28][29]. 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 (see section 16 in [30]) as reasons for this rejection. Image:Security Fence.jpg

In early October 2003, the 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.[31]

[edit] Decreased Checkpoints and Closures

In June 2004, the Washington Times[32] 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 [33] 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 gone to 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" [34].

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 [35].

[edit] Loss of Land

Parts of the barrier are built on land confiscated from Palestinians. [36] [37]. 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. [38]

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 was demolished by the IDF in the village of Nazlat Issa [39][40][41]. 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 [42][43]. The United Nations has established a registry to register claims of property damage caused by the separation barrier. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, said, "...we are establishing that register to be able in time to help those with claims." [44] The Israeli Government has promised that trees affected by the construction will be replanted [45]. 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" (Section 67d).

[edit] Health and Medical services

Medicins du Monde, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel have stated that the barrier 'harms West Bank health'. [46] 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 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. [47]

In his statement, Mr. John Dugard, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied by Israel since 1967, said "some 60,000 Palestinians, living in the outer suburbs of Jerusalem ... will be denied access to schools, hospitals ...". 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. [48] The report also noted that the patients from West Bank visiting Jerusalem's Palestinian clinics declined by half from 2002 to 2003.

[edit] Change in tactics and strategy

Members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad have been less able to conduct terrorist attacks, the numbers of which have decreased in areas where the barrier has been completed. <ref>Israel’s Security Fence (Jewish Virtual Library)</ref> 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.<ref>Israel's ambassador defends security fence by Daniel Ayalon (The Washington Times) August 26, 2003</ref>

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

Image:WestBankGDP3.png

[edit] 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).[49]. In 2005, the PNA Ministry of Finance cited "the construction of the separation wall" as one reason for the depressed Palestinian economic activity.[50] The World Bank characterizes economic activity since 2003 as a "modest economic recovery" attributed to "diminished levels of violence, fewer curfews, and more predictable (albeit still intense) closures, as well as adaptation by Palestinian business to the contours of a constrained West Bank economy". Under a "disengagement scenario" the Bank predicts a real growth rate of -0.2% in 2006 and -0.6% in 2007.<ref>The World Bank Group West Bank and Gaza Update, November 2005, p. 9</ref>

According to the Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) and other sources, 45% of Qalqilyah's farmland [51][52] 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 [53], 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" [54][55].

[edit] Legal issues

[edit] Israeli Supreme Court Rulings

See related 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 [56] [57].

[edit] United Nations and International Court of Justice

See related article 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 and 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" [58]. 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.

[edit] Opinions on the barrier

[edit] 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. [59]

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.

Some Israelis, however, believe the barrier will have unintended consequences. Col. (res.) Shaul Arieli, who was the last commander of the Gaza regional brigade of the IDF, speculates 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. (Haaretz, February 18, 2004)

Haim Ramon, the Israeli Cabinet Minister for Jerusalem, said that while the barrier "was born, first and foremost, to prevent them from continuing to murder us" he added that the barrier "also makes it [Jerusalem] more Jewish. The safer and more Jewish Jerusalem will be, it can serve as a true capital of the state of Israel." [60] [61]

On August 17, 2005, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz said of the barrier: "Sharon has tried in vain to describe it as 'only another counterterrorism measure.' Nevertheless, it looks like a border and behaves like one, with barbed wire, electronic devices, concrete walls, watchtowers and checkpoints. Its creation set a crucial precedent in the unilateral division of the land, which came to fit Sharon perfectly."

[edit] Palestinian opinions

Example of Banksy's artwork on the Palestinian side of the barrier.

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 [62] [63]. 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 [64].

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. Some Palestinian organizations and the International Solidarity Movement have organized nonviolent resistance to the construction of the barrier.

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.” [65] 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, "[t]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." [66]

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 conflict, demanding an end to the barrier, or criticizing its builders and its existence ('Welcome to the Ghetto-Abu Dis'). In August 2005, a graffiti artist named Banksy painted nine images on the Palestinian side of the barrier. [67] He describes the barrier as "the ultimate activity holiday destination for graffiti writers".

[edit] International opinions

Most 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.

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." [68] 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." [69] President Bush reiterated this position during a May 26, 2005 joint press conference with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the Rose Garden. [70] For additional detail on Bush's statements regarding final borders, see Road map for peace.

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" [71].

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. [72]

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". [73]

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." [74]

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'."<ref> "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 </ref>

[edit] Borders opinions

Some speculate that because the barrier is built not along the Green Line but well into the West Bank, the real purpose is to acquire territory. [75] 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". [76] 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 ..." [77] Chris McGreal in the Guardian writes that the barrier is, "evidently intended to redraw Israel's borders". [78] The American Task Force on Palestine says "the construction of a wall meant to separate Israel from the largest concentrations of Palestinians on the West Bank is now well under way, walling in a significant amount of territory east of Jerusalem that even moderate Palestinians hope will be a part of a future state someday. It is, to use a well-worn phrase from the region, the essence of 'creating realities on the ground'." [79] Some have speculated that the barrier will prejudice the outcome of border negotiations in favor of the Israelis. [80] [81]

Yossi Klein Halevy, Israeli correspondent for The New Republic, writes of the barrier that "[b]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."[82]

On March 9, 2006, The New York Times reported acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert 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.[83] The New York Times continues: "Israel has insisted that its West Bank separation barrier is being built solely as a security measure. But Mr. Olmert said it would also form the basis of a border."

[edit] "Apartheid" opinions

Main article: Allegations of Israeli apartheid

Opponents of the barrier claim that building and maintaining the wall is a crime of apartheid^{[citation needed]} - isolating Palestinian communities in the West Bank and consolidating the annexation of Palestinian land by Israeli settlements. Others reject the "apartheid" designation on the grounds that

There is no historical political or factual basis on which to compare Israel with apartheid South Africa. The Arab minority in Israel are full citizens with voting rights... All minority groups in Israel... enjoy social benefits, healthcare and access to state-funded education

<ref>BICOM Frequently Asked Questions, "Can Israel be compared with South Africa under apartheid"</ref>. The "wall" designation is also controversial because over 88% of the barrier is currently fence while only around 11.5% (urban sections, primarily near Jerusalem) [84] is built as a wall of concrete slabs. The sections not yet built are mostly intended to be fence sections, with the final estimate being 95% fence and 5% wall.<ref>Statistics. Separation Barrier. B'TSELEM (October 2005). Retrieved on 2006-07-17.

</ref>

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Image:Commons-logo.svg	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Israeli West Bank barrier

[edit] Israeli government and courts

[edit] United Nations

Compilation of UN documents relating to the barrier.
UN OCHA Humanitarian Information Centre in the occupied Palestinian territory reports, analysis, detailed maps.
Barrier Gates: Northern West Bank (map). PDF
Commission on Human Rights: Report on 61st session. PDF

[edit] Other international organizations

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement statement on the West Bank Barrier
International Commission of Jurists legal analysis of the Separation Barrier, Parts I&II Parts III&IV
Simon Wiesenthal center.
PDF by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein (International Fellowship of Christians and Jews)

[edit] Other organizations

[edit] Other opinion articles

Not an "Apartheid Wall" on HonestReporting.com
(Hebrew) Know what is the Separation Fence
A Wall as a Weapon OpEd by Noam Chomsky, originally published in The New York Times
Q&A: What is the West Bank barrier? BBC News special feature
Guide to the West Bank barrier BBC News
Mideast: The new symmetry of death opinion article in The Washington Times
Background Info: The Security Fence on imra.org.il
Imaginary - or not so imaginary - scenario
Electronic Intifada
Israeli city says barrier is 'working' BBC News
Israel's security barrier: a safety measure or a land grab? article in The Economist describing old 2003 route
Is Israel's Security Barrier Unique? article by Ben Thein in Middle East Quarterly
Research articles on the ICJ decision
Reply to the ICJ Advisory Opinion, detailed 193 page book supporting the Israeli position. PDF
The view point of a soldier serving in the barrier checkpoints near Tul-Karem
Irshad Manji in New York Times
You Are Judging and I Am Burying My Husband by Fanny Haim (Yediot Ahronot), February 23, 2004

[edit] Miscellaneous

da:Israels mur på Vestbredden de:Israelische Sperranlagen es:Barrera israelí de Cisjordania fr:Barrière de séparation israélienne hr:Izraelska sigurnosna ograda id:Tembok Pemisah Israel it:Barriera di separazione israeliana he:גדר ההפרדה nl:Israëlische Westoeverbarrière no:Israels barriere på Vestbredden nn:Israel si sperring på vestbreidda sv:Israels barriär på Västbanken

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