Israel’s Wall: The Facts- Currently, approximately 60% of the planned route has been constructed. Construction is ongoing in the districts of Qalqilya, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron. The Jordan Valley is almost completely isolated fron the rest of the West Bank.
- The Wall’s total length will be some 760 Km, which is twice the length of the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line) between the West Bank and Israel.
- When completed, the Wall will de facto annex some 46% of the West Bank. .
- Approximately 385,000 settlers in 80 settlements are located between the Wall and the Green Line.(98% of the settler population will be included in the facto annexed areas).
- Approximately 35,000 West Bank Palestinians will be located between the Wall and the Green Line (an area known as ‘no man’s land’). They require permits to live in their homes and can only leave their communities via a gate in the Wall. This is in addition to the majority of the 250,000 East Jerusalem residents.
- 78 Palestinian villages and communities with a total population of 266.442 will be isolated as follows: Villages surrounded by the Wall, settlements and settler roads - 257.265 Palestinians Villages isolated between the Wall and the Green Line - 8557 Palestinians Villages isolated and residents threatened with expulsion - 6314 Palestinians
- The cost of the Wall to the Israeli government is now estimated at $ 2.1 billion. In addition, the Occupation has spent NIS 2 billion to construct alternative roads and tunnels.
34 fortified checkpoints, 3 main terminals, 9 commercial terminals and 22 terminals for cars and workers, control Palestinian right of movement.
Israel’s Wall
The construction of Israel’s Separation Wall began on the 16th of June, 2002 and consists of a series of 25-foot-high (8 - meter-high) concrete slabs, trenches, barbed wire “buffer zones”, electrified fencing, numerous watch towers, thermal imaging video cameras, sniper towers and roads for patrol vehicles.
Israel originally claimed that the Wall was being built to protect Israel proper from attacks emanating from either the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, and that it was not meant to be a unilateral declaration of their borders. It quickly became apparent that neither of these claims were wholly true.
Israel’s own security apparatus, as well as a number of independent military analysts have consistently concluded that the Wall does little or nothing to protect Israelis from Palestinians, and that in fact, any reduction in violence coinciding with the construction of the Wall is due to political conciliation rather than the Wall itself.
Rather than serving any real security needs, it is now clear that the Wall constitutes a further effort by Israel to annex Palestinian land and resources, and enclose the major settlement blocks. Only 16% of the Wall has been constructed on the 1967 ‘Green Line’, while the rest snakes in and around major settlements. Despite rulings by both International Court of Justice and Israel’s own Supreme Court, the trajectory of the Wall has not changed. Instead, much like the settlements that it captures, the Wall constitutes a ‘fact on the ground’, or de-facto border, from which Israeli negotiators will begin to bargain.
Many experts and observers have focused on what the Wall ‘is not’ or ‘does not do’ - namely provide security for Israelis living within and beyond the 1967 Green Line - while few look at what it truly ‘is’ and what it ‘does do’ to Palestinians and the prospects of a future state. The Wall in the West Bank, captures not only land and resources, it sometimes envelopes entire Palestinian cities. When combined with the buffer zones and service roads, the Wall destroys the contiguity of the West Bank and further slices any future state into a collection of isolated cantons.
Israel originally claimed that the Wall was being built to protect Israel proper from attacks emanating from either the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, and that it was not meant to be a unilateral declaration of their borders. It quickly became apparent that neither of these claims were wholly true.
Israel’s own security apparatus, as well as a number of independent military analysts have consistently concluded that the Wall does little or nothing to protect Israelis from Palestinians, and that in fact, any reduction in violence coinciding with the construction of the Wall is due to political conciliation rather than the Wall itself.
Rather than serving any real security needs, it is now clear that the Wall constitutes a further effort by Israel to annex Palestinian land and resources, and enclose the major settlement blocks. Only 16% of the Wall has been constructed on the 1967 ‘Green Line’, while the rest snakes in and around major settlements. Despite rulings by both International Court of Justice and Israel’s own Supreme Court, the trajectory of the Wall has not changed. Instead, much like the settlements that it captures, the Wall constitutes a ‘fact on the ground’, or de-facto border, from which Israeli negotiators will begin to bargain.
Many experts and observers have focused on what the Wall ‘is not’ or ‘does not do’ - namely provide security for Israelis living within and beyond the 1967 Green Line - while few look at what it truly ‘is’ and what it ‘does do’ to Palestinians and the prospects of a future state. The Wall in the West Bank, captures not only land and resources, it sometimes envelopes entire Palestinian cities. When combined with the buffer zones and service roads, the Wall destroys the contiguity of the West Bank and further slices any future state into a collection of isolated cantons.
The Wall under International Law
In its advisory opinion on 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice stated that Israel is in breach of international law as the “construction of the wall and its associated regime cre-ate a “fait accompli” on the ground that could well become permanent” that there is a “risk of situation tantamount to de facto annexation”. Furthermore, “the construction of the wall severely impedes the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination and is therefore a breach of Israel’s obligation to respect that right.” The Court also ruled that “the infringements resulting from that route (of the wall) cannot be justified by military exigencies or by the require-ments of security or public order".
Israel was further obliged “to cease forthwith the works of construction of the wall, to dismantle it” and to “make reparation for the damage caused” to all those affected by the construction of the Wall, and “to return the land, orchards, olive groves and other immovable property seized”.
Unreported World:
Aired on November 27, 2009 on C4
Unreported World travels to Israel to reveal how the rapid growth of Jewish "fundamentalists" is creating tension within Israeli society and endangering any negotiations on a peace deal with the Palestinians. Reporter Evan Williams and director Alex Nott visit the Mea Sharim district of Jerusalem, the heartland of ultra-Orthodox Jews known as the Haredi, or "those who fear God".
Jewish and the Haredi Battle in Israel 1 of 3
Jewish and the Haredi Battle in Israel 2 of 3
Jewish and the Haredi Battle in Israel 3 of 3
Changing perspectives on Israel (30th Nov, 2009)The founding of the state of Israel was based on firmly-held views of Jewish history but new research questions some of its most fundamental principles. Do new perspectives on Israel's past require a new vision of its future? Report consist of 2 Parts
Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2
AlJazeeraEnglish (February 16, 2010)
Israel is continuing to build illegal settlements on Palestinian land, despite a 10-month suspension of new construction announced by the government. Peace Now, an Israeli non-governmental organisation, says work is taking place at more than 30 settlements in the occupied West Bank. Nour Odeh reports from Beit Sahour.
Israeli Settlement Building Continues
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, suffering on the global front after a string of setbacks, is meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington to discuss a range of thorny issues. Norman Finkelstein, author of "A Farewell to Israel: The coming break-up of American Zionism", shares his view on US-Israeli 'unbreakable' bond.
Norman Finkelstein on Netanyahu visit to US
AlJazeeraEnglish (July 17, 2010)
Israeli settlements have been dumping untreated waste directly into a sewage canal that runs through the occupied West Bank, affecting Palestinian villages along its banks. The hazard posed is compounded by the dumping of toxic chemical waste on agricultural land, with villagers reporting a rash of skin diseases and respiratory problems. The Israeli government has banned plans by the Palestinian Authority to build pipes and pumps to treat and divert wastewater away from the affected villages. Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh reports.
Israeli sewage-dumping affects Palestinian villages
AlJazeeraEnglish (13 July 2010)
As a Libyan backed aid ship sails for the Gaza Strip, another group of international activists has been defying the blockade, but this time on the land. Foreigners acting as human shields have been helping farmers in Gaza harvest their crops. About 30 per cent of Gaza's arable land is on the border with Israel and the area has been declared a buffer zone by the Israeli army. Palestinian farmers risk being shot with live fire for working their fields. Nicole Johnston reports from Bani Salah.
Gaza farmers risk being shot
Russia Today: Finkelstein on Gaza Flotilla Attack (2010)
RussiaToday — Follow latest updates at http://twitter.com/RT_com and at http://www.facebook.com/pages/RT/3266... Political scientist Norman Finkelstein has spoken to RT to give his assessment of Israel's raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
Israel - Lunatic State
Russia Today:Humanitarian Aid Flotilla, Free Palestinians
The world has strongly condemned Israel for storming a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. At least 9 pro-Palestinian activists were killed and dozens injured when Israeli troops stormed the vessels. Paula Slier is in the Israeli port city of Ashdod, where the ships have arrived. She's been assessing the growing chorus of condemnation.
Oppression, Scam, Cage, Blockage, where is the Humanity?Russian Today CrossTalk on Aid Raid:
On this edition of Peter Lavelle's CrossTalk he asks his guests why humanitarian aid for Gaza ended in an Israeli war crime.
Israel Seizes 'Freedom
USA Israel Eagle has landed'Price to pay' for opposing Israel
AlJazeeraEnglish — June 03, 2010 — Though international criticism has been mounting against Israel's raid on civilian aid ships bound for Gaza, reaction from the United States has been cautious. Glenn Greenwald, a former constitutional lawyer and civil rights litigator, said this muted response is due to the "huge political price" US politicians must pay for being seen as adversarial to Israel. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Greenwald, a contributing editor for Salon.com, said what is clear is that the Obama administration has given its full support to the Israeli government once again.
The support of US for years till now Obama and Israel
Gaza: The Killing Zone (May 2003)
life in Gaza is a constant gauntlet of Israeli sniper fire, military rockets and army bulldozers. No one is safe. In light of the escalating tensions, we're bringing back one our most moving documentaries, a hard-hitting expose of life in the Occupied territories. We speak to the children caught in the crossfire and find out the true cost of Israel's targeted assassinations policy.
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