I try to push my preconceived thoughts out of the way when writing these posts and reading information that may be new to me. I want to have a fresh perspective on something as key to Jerusalem as the separation barrier, but I have found that I have a stronger opinion than I had had before doing the research. I was hoping I could see both sides of the argument, but I see very little of one side as opposed to the other. I wanted to preface my response with this so as to be honest about my personal bias, which has been formulated by the assignment we were all given. I look forward to our conversation tomorrow to see if everyone else felt this strongly about this particular issue.
Israel began to build the separation barrier in 2002. The plan is for it to be 709 kilometers long, which is twice the length of the Green Line. It contains a physical wall, but also fences and barbed wire. It will not only annex almost 10% of the West Bank, but it also isolates parts of Palestinian territories so that Palestinians don't have access to other towns in the West Bank. (2) Furthermore, Israel has had a total of six different separation walls throughout the country between it and other Arab lands. It has taken down two of the six that have existed.
The barrier has halted parts of Palestinian life. Teacher cannot get to the schools where they teach, families are physically separated from each other, towns are completely blocked from each other, leaving some unable to get to hospitals, Palestinians cannot get to work, farmers are separated from their crops and animals. Palestinians who have submitted petitions to Israeli courts to cross through the barrier to get to their property have had their petitions denied. The established checkpoints do not allow Palestinians to freely move from one place to another, and even those who have permits to do so are not guaranteed to get to where they need to go.
Israel has annexed nearly 10% of the West Bank into what many consider Israel's future border. There is simply absolutely no consideration for the rights of Palestinians in this case. The barrier has allowed Israel to put all of their West Bank settlements within the confines of the wall. I cannot conceive one day waking up and having my family's property cut in half or on another side of a wall from me. I cannot imagine having that wall declared illegal by the international community and by international law, yet that meaning nothing to those that constructed it. The wall is speaking to the future generation. It is saying that it is okay to violate the sovereignty of a neighboring territory. It is saying that it is okay to unilaterally and arbitrarily determine your own borders without consulting neighbors, whose borders are obviously going to be impacted by the drawing of your own borders. It is saying that it is okay to build up a wall and not confront a conflict head on. It is saying that it is okay to not legitimize the other group with whom you are supposedly negotiating with.
Israel has the right to protect itself from physical harm. It has the duty to protect its citizens from harm. No one would argue otherwise, but their construction of this border is harming Palestinians every day. It was also declared illegal under international law. The overwhelming majority of the ICJ has called for the dismantling of the barrier, as well as for the international community to not recognize the wall as legitimate. If you want to read the advisory opinion of the ICJ (if you didn't see it when you were researching), here it is. (1)
I do not mean to be divisive with this post. I appreciate the dialogue that we have in this class and how respectful everyone is of everyone else's opinions. However, I cannot help but feel angry when reading about this barrier and how it impacts people every single day. We have seen barriers in the past that have been nothing but unhelpful. How is this one supposed to be any different?
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think that some type of separation barrier is necessarily a bad thing for the peace process, or could it be beneficial for both states if constructed on an agreed-upon border?
2. Do you think that Israel really has an obligation to take down the barrier as suggested by the ICJ?
Citations:
(1) http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?pr=71&code=mwp&p1=3&p2=4&p3=6
(2) http://www.btselem.org/separation_barrier/map
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