Wikipedia — 2024
The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall, or the West Bank separation barrier,[1][2] is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary security barrier against Palestinian political violence; whereas Palestinians describe it as an element of racial segregation and a representation of Israeli apartheid,[3] who often call it "Wall of Apartheid".[4] At a total length of 708 kilometres (440 mi) upon completion, the route traced by the barrier is more than double the length of the Green Line, with 15% of its length running along the Green Line or inside Israel, and the remaining 85% running as much as 18 kilometres (11 mi) inside the West Bank, effectively isolating about 9% of the land and approximately 25,000 Palestinians from the rest of the Palestinian territory.[5]
The barrier was built by Israel following a wave of Palestinian political violence and incidents of terrorism inside Israel during the Second Intifada, which began in September 2000 and ended in February 2005.[6] The Israeli government cites a decreased number of suicide bombings carried out from the West Bank as evidence of its efficacy, after such attacks fell from 73 between 2000 and July 2003 (the completion of the first continuous segment) to 12 between August 2003 and the end of 2006.[7][8] While the barrier was initially presented as a temporary security measure at a time of heightened tensions, it has since been associated with a future political border between Israel and the State of Palestine.[9]
The barrier has drawn criticism from Palestinians, human rights groups, and members of the international community, who have all argued that it serves as evidence of Israel's intent to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security.[10] It has also been alleged that the construction of the wall aims to undermine the Israeli-Palestinian peace process by unilaterally establishing new de facto borders.[11] Key points of dispute are that it substantially deviates eastward from the Green Line, severely restricts the travel of many Palestinians, and impairs their ability to commute to work within the West Bank[12] or to Israel.[13] The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion finding that the barrier qualifies as a violation of international law.[14][15] In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that charged Israel's building of the barrier to be a violation of international law and demanded its removal by a vote of 144-4 with 12 abstentions.[16]
The walled sections of the barrier have become a canvas for graffiti art, with its Palestinian side illustrating opposition to the barrier, Palestinian resistance, their right to return, as we'll as human rights in general.[1]
Names
Graffiti on the road to Bethlehem in the West Bank stating "Ich bin ein Berliner"
In Hebrew, descriptions include: "separation fence" (גדר ההפרדה, Geder HaHafrada); "separation wall" (Hebrew: חומת ההפרדה, Ḥomat HaHafrada) and "security fence" (גדר הביטחון, Geder HaBitaḥon).[17][18]
In Arabic, it is called "wall of apartheid"/"racial segregation wall"[4] جدار الفصل العنصري, jidār al-faṣl al-unṣuriyy, indicating an allegation of Israeli apartheid.
In English, the BBC's style guide uses the terms "barrier" (sometimes "separation barrier" or "West Bank barrier")[19] as do The Economist,[20] PBS[21] and the New York Times.[22] The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses the phrase "security fence" in English.[23] The International Court of Justice has used the term "wall", explaining that "the other expressions sometimes employed are no more accurate if understood in the physical sense."[24] It is also referred to as the "Apartheid Wall" or "Apartheid Fence" in a derogatory manner.[25][26][27] "Seam zone" (Hebrew: מרחב התפר) refers to the land between the 1949 Armistice Agreement Line and the fence.
Structure
Route 443 near Giv'at Ze'ev Junction, with pyramid-shaped stacks of barbed wire forming a section of the Israeli West Bank barrier
The barrier is described by the Israeli Defense Forces as a "multi-layered composite obstacle", parts of it consisting of a 9 metres (30 ft) high concrete wall,[28] while other stretches consist of a multi-layered fence system, with three fences with pyramid-shaped stacks of barbed wire on the two outer fences and a lighter-weight fence with intrusion detection equipment in the middle; an anti-vehicle ditch; patrol roads on both sides; and a smooth strip of sand for "intrusion tracking".[29][30]
Where the multi-layered fence system is employed, it contains an exclusion area of 60-metre (200 ft) in width on average,[31] with some sections having an exclusion area that reaches up to 100 metres (330 ft).[32] The concrete wall has a width of 3 metres (9.8 ft), and the wall is 9 metres (30 ft) high.[28]
Route
Israeli West Bank barrier — North of Meitar, near the southwest corner of the West Bank, in 2006
See also: 1949 Armistice Agreements — Cease-fire line vs. permanent border
The barrier between northern West Bank and the Gilboa Highway 1 Route 4370 Junction (Al-Issawiya Junction) — one can see the barrier between the Israeli and the Palestinian lanes.
The barrier runs partly along or near the 1949 Jordanian-Israeli armistice line ("Green Line") and partly through the Israeli-occupied West Bank diverging eastward from the armistice line by up to 20 km (12 mi) to include on the western side several of the areas with concentrations of highly populated Israeli settlements, such as East Jerusalem, the Ariel Block (Ariel, Karnei Shomron, Kedumim, Immanuel, etc.),[33] Gush Etzion, Givat Ze'ev, Oranit, and Maale Adumim.[34][35]
The barrier nearly encircles some Palestinian towns, about 20% follows the armistice line,[36] and a projected 77,000 ha (191,000 acres) or about 13.5% of the West Bank area is on the west side of the wall.[37] According to a study of the April 2006 route by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, 8.5% of the West Bank area will be on the Israeli side of the barrier after completion, and 3.4% partly or completely surrounded on the eastern side.[38] Some 27,520 to 31,000 Palestinians will be captured on the Israeli side.[38][39] Another 124,000, on the other hand, will effectively be controlled and isolated. Some 230,000 Palestinians in Jerusalem will be placed on the West Bank side.[39] Most of the barrier was built at the northern and western edges of the West Bank, mostly beyond the Green Line and created 9 enclaves, which enclosed 15,783 ha (39,000 acres). An additional barrier, circa 10 km long, run south of Ramallah.[40]
Israel states 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.[41] The International Court of Justice states that in such cases it is only legal to build the barrier inside Israel.
The barrier route has been challenged in court and changed several times. Argument presented to the court has reiterated that the cease-fire line of 1949 was negotiated "without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines" (Art. VI.9).[42]