Abstract

Israel's Failing Wall

The author discusses the controversy surrounding the newly built Israeli security wall. This granite monstrosity--there's nothing even slightly aesthetic about it--is part of the "Jerusalem envelope" built to protect the citizens of Jerusalem, Jewish and Palestinian, since both are random victims of the suicide bombers. And now the wall is going to The Hague, to the International Court of Justice (the World Court), with hearings beginning on February 23. Originally a fence/wall was proposed by Labor Party members as a temporary security barrier until negotiations for a permanent settlement could resume and reach fruition. The idea was that it would run more or less along the Green Line that separates the State of Israel from the West Bank. The right, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was opposed to the idea, because it implied recognition of the pre-1967 borders as the eventual dividing line between Israel and a future Palestinian state. However, as Sharon proved unable to provide the "peace and security" he promised in his election campaign, the idea of a security barrier began to look more appealing. The settler lobby insisted that the barrier should include as many West Bank settlements on the Israeli side as possible, so the barrier kept moving eastward, encompassing more and more settlers and Palestinian villagers. The Israeli government is clearly concerned about the fact that the UN General Assembly has asked the World Court for an advisory opinion on the issue. With the specter of the beginnings of a South Africa-type international boycott looming over the horizon, Sharon has begun to waver.