Names
InStructure
The barrier is described by theRoute
The barrier runs partly along or near the 1949 Jordanian–Israeli armistice line ( "Green Line") and partly through theTimeline
In 1992, the idea of creating a physical barrier between the Israeli and Palestinian populations was proposed by then-prime ministerEffectiveness
Suicide bombings have decreased since the construction of the barrier.Effects on Palestinians
The barrier has many effects on Palestinians including reduced freedoms, reduction of the number ofReduced freedoms
In a 2005 report, theFewer checkpoints and roadblocks
In June 2004, ''Loss of land
Parts of the barrier are built on land seized from Palestinians, or between Palestinians and their lands In a 2009 report, the UN said 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. However, in its current route the barrier annexes 9.5% of the total area of the West Bank to the Israeli side of the barrier. In early 2003, 63 shops straddling the Green Line were demolished by the IDF during construction of the wall in the village of Nazlat Issa. In August 2003, an additional 115 shops and stalls (an important source of income for several communities) and five to seven homes there were also demolished. According to theHealth and medical services
Médecins du Monde, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel have stated that the barrier "harms West Bank health". 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 Israel. 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 (Economic changes
In 2013, the World Bank cited estimates of costs to the West Bank economy attributable to "barriers" combined with "checkpoints and movement permits" of USD $185m and $229m. Foreign Affairs contributor David Makovsky estimated the number of West Bank Palestinians who lived on the Israeli side in 2004 as "fewer than one percent" but noted that a larger number living in enclaves like Qalqiliya adjacent to the fence were also adversely affected. The Israeli human rights organisationLegality
United Nations Security Council
In October 2003, aInternational Court of Justice
In a 2004Israel
In April 2003,Opinions of the barrier
United Nations
In December 2003, Resolution ES-10/14 was adopted by the"What are the legal consequences arising from the construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, as described in the report of the Secretary-General, considering the rules and principles of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions?"The court concluded that the barrier violated international law.Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Israeli opinions
According to a survey conducted by thePalestinian opinions
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. They state that Palestinian institutions inOther International opinions
The Red Cross
TheHuman rights organizations
Amnesty International,Since the summer of 2002 the Israeli army has been destroying large areas of Palestinian agricultural land, as well as other properties, to make way for a fence/wall which it is building in the West Bank. In addition to the large areas of particularly fertile Palestinian farmland that have been destroyed, other larger areas have been cut off from the rest of the West Bank by the fence/wall. The fence/wall is not being built between Israel and the Occupied Territories but mostly (close to 90%) inside the West Bank, turning Palestinian towns and villages into isolated enclaves, cutting off communities and families from each other, separating farmers from their land and Palestinians from their places of work, education and health care facilities and other essential services. This in order to facilitate passage between Israel and more than 50 illegal Israeli settlements located in the West Bank.
World Council of Churches
On February 20, 2004 theUnited States opinion
In 2003, when the Bush administration was considering reducing loan guarantees to Israel to discourage construction of the fence, then Secretary of State Colin Powell criticized the project. He said, "A nation is within its rights to put up a fence if it sees the need for one. However, in the case of the Israeli fence, we are concerned when the fence crosses over onto the land of others." Response from pro-Israel members of Congress criticized the possible reduction in loan assistance. For example, SenatorEuropean Union opinion
According to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the EU considers the barrier to be illegal to the extent it is built on Palestinian land.Canadian opinion
The Canadian Government recognizes Israel's right to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks, including through the restriction of access to its territory, and by building a barrier on its own territory for security purposes. However, it opposes the barrier's incursion into and the disruption of occupied territories. Considering the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) to be "occupied territory", the Canadian government considers the barrier to be contrary to international law under the Fourth Geneva Convention. It opposes the barrier and the expropriations and the demolition of houses and economic infrastructure preceding its construction.Border opinions
Although the Barrier is purported to be a temporary defense against Palestinian attacks, many view it as significant in terms of future negotiations over Israel's final borders. Some speculate that because sections of the barrier are not built along the Green Line but in the West Bank, the real purpose is to acquire territory. Some people describe the barrier as the ''de facto'' future border of the State of Israel.Analogies to apartheid
Ahmad Hajihosseini, Observer for theArt, books, film
The wall has been used as a canvas for many paintings and writings. It has been called the "world's largest protest graffiti". Some of these (but not all) have been removed by the Israelis, and sometimes by people on the Palestinian side. Graffiti on the Palestinian side of the wall has been one of many forms of protest against its existence, demanding an end to the barrier, or criticizing its builders and its existence ("Welcome to theOther barriers
Gaza barriers
Two similar barriers, theSaudi-Yemeni barrier
In February 2004 ''See also
*References
External links
Maps
General news resources
Israeli government and courts
United Nations and International Court of Justice rulings
Links to articles opposing the barrier
Links to articles in favor of the barrier