Israel's Security/Separation Barrier
The Israeli government began building a barrier in and around the West Bank in 2002 in reaction to a wave of suicide bombings by Palestinian militants that began in 2000. The project has been controversial from its inception. There has even been a heated debate over what to call the barrier--Israeli officials describe it as a fence, while critics often insist that it is a wall. The barrier, which runs more than 420 miles, is composed of different sections. Some parts, located in populated areas, consist of concrete slabs 26 feet high, with watchtowers occupied by border guards. In more isolated areas, the barrier consists of multiple rows of fencing with ditches and surveillance cameras; guards patrol these sections in vehicles.
Construction of the barrier prompted outcries within Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as abroad. One point of contention was that the wall incorporated territory that had been part of the West Bank when it was occupied by Jordan prior to the Six-Day War in 1967. During that war, Israel seized control of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights. In June 2004, the Israeli Supreme Court deemed the barrier itself permissible, but also ruled that sections of it should be rerouted to accommodate Palestinian populations. In July 2004, the International Court of Justice in the Hague issued an advisory opinion that the barrier violated international law because it was built partly on Palestinian land.
As of May 2013, approximately two thirds of the 700-kilometer (435-mile) barrier had been built.
Sources:
» Associated Press. "No War Crimes Charges for West Bank Separation Barrier Firm."
» Bard, Mitchell. "Israel's Security Fence." Jewish Virtual Library, July 8, 2010.
» BBC News. "Guide to the West Bank Barrier."
» Cohen, Roger. "The World: Israel's Wall; Building for Calm by Giving Up on Peace." The New York Times, July 18, 2004.
» The Washington Post. "Country Guide: Israel."
» Wide Angle. "The World's Most Complex Borders: Israel/West Bank."
Bil'in
The Palestinian village of Bil'in is located in the central West Bank, 12 kilometers (7.45 miles) west of Ramallah, Palestine's de facto capital city, and 4 kilometers (2.49 miles) inside the "Green Line" that divides the West Bank from Israel proper. The majority of residents of Bil'in are Muslim, and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reports a population of approximately 1,800. The land is about 988 acres in size, and the residents depend on agriculture as their main source of income.
Construction of the security barrier in the Bil'in area began in 2005, and since then approximately 55 percent of Bil'in's former land has been used for the construction of the Modi'in Illit settlement. With more than 50,000 residents, it is one of the largest and fastest growing settlements in the West Bank.
Every Friday since 2005, protesters have gathered in Bil'in for demonstrations against the barrier's route, making the village a symbol of resistance. Protesters have included the village's Popular Resistance Committee, as well as international and Israeli peace activists. Other villages followed Bil'in's lead, staging demonstrations as the barrier approached. In response, the Israeli army stepped up its defense.
Hundreds of protestors have been arrested since the demonstrations began, and dozens of protesters and Israeli security officers have been injured. While the protesters claim their demonstrations are nonviolent, some supporters of the barrier disagree. In 2010, the Israeli military declared the area a closed military zone in an attempt to stop demonstrations, effectively banning non-residents from the village.
In June 2011 the Israel Defense Forces began a relocation of the security barrier due to the 2007 Israel Supreme Court ruling that ordered settlement construction to halt and the barrier to be rerouted back toward Israel on state land. The new route was moved closer to the "Green Line" (Israel's boundary prior to the 1967 Six-Day War), restoring some of Bil'in's land. 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles) of the barrier (in the form of a barbed wire fence) were replaced with a 3.2-kilometer (1.9-mile) concrete wall.
The Israel Defense Forces report that the relocation cost Israel $7.5 million, and another $1.5 million will be required to make the restored land suitable for agriculture.
Approximately 320 acres of land still remain west of the relocated barrier, in the Modi'in Illit settlement. Protests continue.
Sources:
» BBC News. "Guide to the West Bank Barrier."
» Bil'in, a Village of Palestine. "Bil'in to Welcome Members of Shministim at Friday Demonstration."
» FRONTLINE World. "Israel: The Unexpected Candidate."
» Greenberg, Hanan. "IDF Takes Down Bilin Fence." YNet News, June 22, 2011.
» Harris, Emily. "A Decade in the Making, West Bank Barrier is Nearly Complete." National Public Radio, May 22, 2013.
» Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Israel, the Conflict and Peace: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions."
» Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Popular Resistance Committees."
» Pfeffer, Anshel. "Mass Demonstration in Bil'in Marks Five Years of Protest Against West Bank Separation Fence." Haaretz, February 21, 2010.