The Barrier
In the summer of 2002, Israel began erecting a barrier to seal off the occupied Palestinian territories. The move followed a series of Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel.
One hundred and fifty kilometres of the 700-kilometre structure have already been built. The barrier is due to be completed by late 2005. Israel calls it a security fence. Palestinians call it The Wall. Eric Beauchemin examines the impact of the barrier on Palestinians and Israelis.
Virtually no one, not even Palestinians, dispute Israel's right to construct a barrier to protect itself.
The problem is the route: 85 percent of the structure is located on the Palestinian side of the Green Line. In places, the barrier juts up to 15 kilometres into the occupied territories, causing severe disruptions to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
According to Nezah Mashiah, the head of the Security Fence project, "the route was planned and designed by the Central Command of the Israel Defence Forces to offer the best protection to Israeli citizens from the massive terror attacks that have happened since September 2000." The two-billion-dollar project was eventually approved by the defence minister and the rest of the Israeli government.
Suicide bombings
150 kilometres of the 700-kilometre structure have so far been built, and it has led to a dramatic decrease in the number of suicide bombings in Israel.
• September 2000 - July 2003: 115 suicide
bombings. Two-thirds of the
victims were civilians.
•
July 2003 - November 2004: 21 suicide bombings, only three of
which
took place in northern Israel, where the fence has been
completed..
Of
these three attacks, one involved an aspiring lawyer carrying a
Jordanian passport who entered Israel via an official crossing. The
other two suicide bombers entered Israel before the northern
section of the barrier was completely operational.
The security fence has been welcomed by most
Israelis. They believe it
will guarantee their safety. 60 percent of Israelis have no idea
where the barrier is located. But there is a growing awareness among
the military establishment and other circles that the barrier, as it is
currently planned, may be detrimental to Israel's security.Over 95 percent of the barrier is made up of chain-linked fence. The fence is not electric, but it has sensors. Cameras and drones also monitor what Israel calls the "seam zone". Attempted intrusions are supposed to be detected within 30 seconds, and army units can arrive at the location within less than 5 minutes.
There are gates on average every three kilometres to allow Palestinians with permits to cross to the other side to tend to their fields, go to work or visit family or friends.
The gates are generally open three times a day for 15-30 minutes. Only 50 percent of those who request a permit are granted one.
Security?
The drop in the number of suicide bombings is incontrovertible, but human rights groups and aid organisations dispute the Israeli authorities' assertion that the barrier is being built along the route that offers "the best protection to Israeli citizens".
According to Yehezkel Lein of B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, "many Israeli ministers and politicians publicly stated that the barrier would serve as a bargaining chip in future negotiations, so we should put it on Palestinian territory."
One case in particular, says Mr Lein, highlights how the route has little or nothing to do with security:
"The government decided to create an enclave in Qalqilya and the neighbouring village of Habla. Later, Israelis in the nearby settlement of Matan launched a campaign to change the route in order to prevent a road being constructed through their town. They said it would have a negative impact on their quality of life and the value of their property. They said this very openly. As a result of their campaign, the army decided to modify the route. It created two separate enclaves, even though the town of Habla is completely dependent on Qalqilya."
After numerous protests, the Israeli army eventually built a tunnel to link Habla and Qalqilya, but Mr Lein says this case and many others call into question the authorities' original motivations for establishing the route.
Impact on Palestinians
The barrier, together with other Israeli security measures such as checkpoints and roadblocks in the occupied territories, is having disastrous consequences for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. "These measures have crippled the Palestinian economy," says David Shearer, the head of the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "The poverty rate in the Palestinian territories has gone from 22 percent to 55 percent in the space of four years. Unemployment has risen from 10 to 40 percent."
Fence or Wall?The Israeli authorities refer to the barrier as a "security fence". They say that because less than 4 percent of the fence is made up of concrete slabs, it is incorrect to refer to it as a wall.
Some Palestinians refer to the structure as an "apartheid wall", but the majority of Palestinians and many non-governmental groups simply call it "the Wall". In its ruling on the legality of the structure, the International Court of Justice also referred to it as "the Wall".
When it's completed, the barrier will cut off 13.5 percent of the West Bank, including some of the most fertile land in the territories. For the most part, the barrier is separating Palestinians from Palestinians, cutting people off from their land, their schools and their work. It is also tearing families apart and creating enormous humanitarian problems throughout the territories.
Jerusalem
The situation is particularly acute in the Jerusalem area. There are 230,000 Palestinians who have Jerusalem ID cards, but one-third of them are going to find themselves on the West Bank side of the barrier, says Mr Shearer.
"So whereas they used to have free access to hospitals, schools, all sorts of things, there will now be a wall separating them from services they are entitled to. On the other hand, there are people living in Jerusalem with a West Bank ID card who need a permit to stay there but don't have a permit. Therefore legally they can't move around."
Mr Shearer adds that in Abu Dis, an area in Jerusalem which is home to 30,000 people:
"They had three hospitals within two or three kilometres. The barrier will stop them from getting to those hospitals and they will now have to travel nearly 20 kilometres on a very bad road to Bethlehem where the hospital is going to be overrun with 30,000 new people. To get to Bethlehem, they have to go through a checkpoint where they have to get out and walk. So the idea is not to be too sick when you go to hospital. At the moment there are little holes where people can still sneak through, but as soon as they are sealed shut, there are going to be some major humanitarian issues."
Settlements
The Israeli government has yet to decide on the final route of the barrier, but what is already clear is that many of the major settlements in the West Bank will be included on the Israeli side of the barrier. For many Palestinians and international observers, this amounts to a land-grab.
In July 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the Wall [sic] "was contrary to international law". It found that the barrier's construction was tantamount to annexation and impeded the Palestinians' right to self-determination. It stated that the barrier should be brought down immediately and the Palestinians affected by it should be compensated.
Israel and the United States have rejected the Court's 14-1 ruling. The previous month, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the barrier violated the rights of thousands of Palestinian residents by separating them from their farmland in "a veritable chokehold, which will severely stifle daily life."
Israel says the route of the fence can always be modified, but as time goes by, it will become far more difficult to change the facts on the ground, says Professor Gadi Algazi of the University of Tel Aviv:
"Palestinians are losing access to their lands, to water and water wells. The barrier and the checkpoints are making it impossible for them to move about. It's a system of expropriation that is sold or presented as a means to achieve personal security for Israelis. It has nothing to do with it."
Eric
Beauchemin 2005
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