Articles About Israel’s Confiscation Barrier through the West Bank

 One blow to the brain 
Dalia Karpel in Haaretz - n Friday, August 11th, when the end of the Lebanon War was on the horizon, after several weeks in which no more than token protests had taken place in Bil'in, the weekly demonstration against the separation fence began. Border Police troops, who were waiting, threw stun grenades and fired rubber-coated metal bullets at the demonstrators, even before they left the village to head toward the fence. Limor Goldstein, 28, was wounded in the head by gunfire from a Border Police officer. As documented on the video that was being shot at the time there, two hours elapsed from the time he was injured until he was brought by ambulance to the emergency room at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer. more

 Israel redraws the roadmap, building quietly and quickly 
Chris McGreal in the UK Guardian - At the northern edge of Jerusalem, on the main road to the Palestinian city of Ramallah, three towering concrete walls are converging around a rapidly built maze of cages, turnstiles and bomb-proof rooms. When construction at Qalandiya is completed in the coming weeks, the remaining gaps in the 8m (26ft)-high walls will close and those still permitted to travel between the two cities will be channelled through a warren of identity and security checks reminiscent of an international frontier. more

 Injustice and Stupidity in Jerusalem 
Haaretz - In July 2004, Israel’s cabinet adopted a decision that was neither made public nor even published in the official government gazette, Reshumot: to apply the Absentee Property Law to East Jerusalem, and thereby to confiscate thousands of dunams of land from owners who live in the West Bank. The reason for the decision was security-related: Since in practice, West Bank residents are barred from entering East Jerusalem because of the intifada, the cabinet decided to enact an official measure that would prevent any use of these lands by their owners in the future as well, and would explicitly state that henceforth their property belongs to the State of Israel. more

 Israeli government decision aims to strip Palestinians of their properties in East Jerusalem 
Meron Rappaport in Haaretz - The Sharon government implemented the Absentee Property Law in East Jerusalem last July, contrary to Israeli government policy, since Israeli law was extended to East Jerusalem after the Six Day War. The law means that thousands of Palestinians who live in the West Bank will lose ownership of their property in East Jerusalem. more

 Imprisoned in Israel 
Kate Raphael Bender (IWPS) - This Sunday, Israeli bus 19, which was the target of a Palestinian bombing, will be displayed in Berkeley. It is a reminder of lives lost in the terrible attack. Not visible are the millions of Palestinian lives being destroyed daily in the occupied Palestinian territories by Israel’s refusal to allow them basic human rights: to work, to travel freely, to visit family, to live in their homes, even to possess a nationality. more

 Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes 
Derek Summerfield in the British Medical Journal - Does the death of an Arab weigh the same as that of a US or Israeli citizen? The Israeli army, with utter impunity, has killed more unarmed Palestinian civilians since September 2000 than the number of people who died on September 11, 2001. In conducting 238 extrajudicial executions the army has also killed 186 bystanders (including 26 women and 39 children). Two thirds of the 621 children (two thirds under 15 years) killed at checkpoints, in the street, on the way to school, in their homes, died from small arms fire, directed in over half of cases to the head, neck and chest—the sniper’s wound. more

 Ethnic Cleansing and the Art of Camouflage 
Paul Larudee in Palestine - If you want to fully understand the wall that Israel has built, I advise you to start at the beginning, where its first sections were erected nearly two years ago on land belonging to the villages of Pharaon and Irtah, on the edge of the city of Tulkarem. The living room of Fayez Odah in Irtah offers an excellent view of the 25-foot-high monolith, which has eaten 60% of his land. He and his wife Mona and five children are also in danger of being arrested or fired upon every time they try to farm the remaining 40%, because it is in the “security zone” next to the wall. The structure is even more imposing for being on a raised section of ground, with a sort of ditch in front of it. more

 Freedom March Builds as it Nears Jerusalem 
ISM in Ramallah, West Bank - The Freedom March Against the Wall, that began July 30 in Jenin, has traveled for 16 days and visited approximately 60 villages and towns. On several days the March has been joined by over 1000 Palestinians, Internationals and Israelis and numerous organizations and political parties. They have met with families and farmers along the path of the Wall, under the constant watch of the Israeli Army. On several occasions the marchers have been met by military force as the Israeli Army has attempted to block their path and arrest them. more

 Children, Artists Paint Mural on Apartheid Wall at Mas’ha 
IWPS in Mas’ha, West Bank - For almost nine months, Maisa, Assia, Ishak, Nidal, and Shaad have looked out their front door to see an 8-meter grey wall where their village used to be. On Sunday, the children worked with muralists from San Francisco’s Break the Silence Mural Project to transform their view into one of hope and freedom. Where dark concrete loomed, a yellow bird now soars from a lush green valley dotted with red flowers. Read Report | Watch Video in Realplayer | Watch Video in Widows Media Player

 World Court Condemns Israel’s Wall 
Arthur Max in the UK Guardian - The U.N.’s highest judicial authority decided Israel’s planned 425-mile-long barrier in the West Bank violates international law and must be dismantled, according to court documents that were leaked ahead of the announcement. more

 Separation Spells Racism 
Azmi Bishara in Al Ahram Weekly - Polls confirm time and again the racism rooted deep within Israeli society. The struggle for Palestinian rights, therefore, has always been universal. more

 The Nightmare Comes True 
Uri Avnery in CounterPunch - I thought it was terrible. I was wrong. It is far, far worse!—These words sum up my feelings at that moment. I was standing on a hill overlooking the infamous Kalandia checkpoint. more

 Biddu-Palestine: Israeli Military Uses Violence Against Nonviolent Women 
ISM in Biddu, West Bank - Friends, I just spoke to Molly Malekar on her way to Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem, and here is what she reported: “We were about 60 women, only women: roughly 1/3 Israeli, 1/3 Palestinian, and 1/3 nternationals. We gathered at Bidu to protest the construction of the wall in this village.” more

 Another Palestinian Shot in Biddu 
ISM in Biddu, West Bank - Five citizens of the West Bank village of Biddu have been killed by the Israeli military over the last month and a half during protests against the Apartheid Wall that the government of Israel is building on their farmland. Despite the use of excessive and lethal force against protesters, the people of Biddu remain committed to resisting the Wall through non-violent protests. more

 Land Day in Beitunia
Perla and Gabriel (ISM), Beitunia, Ramallah, West Bank - For the past ten days bulldozers have been working in Beitunia, a town of 20,000 people four kilometers southwest of Ramallah. The path of the Apartheid Wall will confiscate 17,000 dunums (four dunums equal one acre): 2,000 dunums will be used for the construction of the Wall itself while 15,000 dunums will fall on the other side of the Wall. This stolen land consists of olive grooves, wheat fields and grape vines. The town will be left with 9,000 dunums, which represent the built-up area of the city. Beitunia is being robbed of the entirety of its agricultural land. In the past Beitunia lost about 1,000 dunums to a military outpost, 2,000 dunums to the settlement of Givat Zeev, and another 3,000 dunums to bypass roads – roads that the Palestinians are not allowed to drive on. more

 Those who are defeated by violence will become obsessed by it
Maia Williams (CPT), Azariyya, West Bank - For more than half of each week, I live in Azariyya, a West Bank town a couple of miles outside of Jerusalem. I leave from Azariyya to Jerusalem by walking up a steep path, passing taxis and vans constipating the road. Then I arrive at the slabs of rock, standing vertically, one next to the other, and stare at the soldiers dressed in green cloth and jaunty hats posturing with their guns, joking with one another, sitting in their jeeps to avoid the hot noon day sun, and yelling at the Palestinian taxi drivers as the taxi drivers yell at the passersby to fill their vehicles. This is the place where the wall touches me and I touch the wall. more

 Another Palestinian Shot in Biddu 
ISM in Biddu, West Bank - Five citizens of the West Bank village of Biddu have been killed by the Israeli military over the last month and a half during protests against the Apartheid Wall that the government of Israel is building on their farmland. Despite the use of excessive and lethal force against protesters, the people of Biddu remain committed to resisting the Wall through non-violent protests. more

 Biddu people’s nonviolent resistance pushes Israeli military out of village
ISM in Biddu, NW Jerusalem, West Bank - Today was the first day that the bulldozers were allowed to return to work on the apartheid wall in this area after nearly 5 weeks when no work was allowed because of the pending court case in the Israeli High Court. At approximately 3:30pm 2 bulldozers accompanied by at least 7 jeeps, approximately 90 soldiers (mostly border police) as well as members of an anti-terrorism task force and a truck with a water canon attached to the top, arrived in Biddu and began bulldozing their land. Immediately a call for a demonstration was made in the mosques and people began to arrive at the work site. About 150 Palestinians, as well as 7 internationals, and 4 Israelis came and peacefully confronted the soldiers. The soldiers cut off the road leading out of Biddu as well as occupied a partially-constructed home overlooking the worksite and surrounded the demonstration. Demonstrators attempted to negotiate with the soldiers at which time the soldiers showed a piece of paper declaring the area a closed military zone and threatened arrests. more

 Israel’s Christian Problem 
CNN - There is hardly a more resolute supporter of Israel in Congress than Rep. Henry Hyde, the venerable chairman of the House International Relations Committee. That is why his March 25 letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell is so important. It is a plea to deflect Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s wall around the Holy Land from its planned position blocking the Scriptural pathway of Jesus Christ. more

 Shot twice today, but I’m ok – and one of the lucky ones
Neal (ISM) in Kharbatha Bani Harith, West Bank - Today has been quite a crazy adventure, but has also cemented emotions of how absolutely insane the soldiers here are, and how absolutely necessary it is for people to call for an end to this wall, and more importantly, an end to this occupation.  It is amazing how quickly one day, actually really only five hours, can really push one forward.  Today for the first time I really felt endangered, pretty scared during various moments, and even decided I would rather be shot in the back of the head than in the face, but I will get there a little later. more

 Opinion: Even if Palestine wins at The Hague... 
Ali Abunimah in The Electronic Intifada - On the first day of hearings at the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Professor Mordechai Kedar at Israel’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies told the BBC Arabic Service that Palestinian assertions that Israel’s West Bank wall will make an independent state impossible were invalid. He argued that the existence of states like Liechtenstein (area: smaller than Washington, DC; population 33,000,) and Monaco (slightly bigger than London’s Hyde Park; population 32,000) proves that there will be plenty of room left for a sovereign, internationally-recognized Palestinian state no matter where Israel builds its barrier. Such arguments from Israeli “strategists,” offered with apparent seriousness, underscore the strength of the Palestinian claim that the wall is intended to annex the West Bank, not separate it from Israel, and the weakness of Israel’s legal position. more

 WCC demands Israel dismantle its barrier 
World Council of Churches Press Release - The executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has issued a powerful appeal to the Israeli government demanding that they “stop and reverse the construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”. The “construction and location” of the Israeli wall on occupied Palestinian territory is a “violation of the Charter of the United Nations and fundamental principles of international law”, says the WCC executive committee in a statement adopted during its 17-20 February 2004 meeting in Geneva. It also calls on all member churches and ecumenical partners to “condemn the wall as an act of unlawful annexation”, which “should not be recognised by any state”. more

 Letter from Jayyous
David Bloom in The Nation - The wall took less than a year to be constructed in an arc around much of Jayyous, a village in the occupied West Bank near Qalqilya. Seventy percent of the villagers’ farmland—and all their irrigated land—has ended up on the western [Israeli] side of Israel’s “security fence.” There are gates for Jayyous’s farmers to access their land, but Israel has made the ability to do so steadily more difficult—in a process most villagers believe will eventually lead to the confiscation of their ancestral lands. more

 Child Unable to Pass Through the Apartheid Wall Dies 
Mohamed Hashem, a two year old child from the village of Ras Atieh south of Qalqiliya died Sunday, February 8, 2004 as his family, imprisoned behind the Apartheid Wall, was not able to reach emergency medical attention. Early Sunday morning the child began feeling sick and quickly developed a high fever. The parents brought the child to the local doctor in Habla who determined that the boy should to be taken to the hospital immediately. more

 UN warns of Palestinian ‘despair’ 
Imogen Foulkes for the BBC - Speaking in Geneva, Peter Hansen, the head of UN Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa), said the building of the security barrier, which Israel says it needs to protect itself from attacks by suicide bombers, is already adding to the problems, not just because people are cut off from their jobs or their land, but because Palestinians see the barrier as another sign that their situation is hopeless. more

 The Psychological Implications of Israel’s Separation Wall on Palestinians 
Palestinian Counseling Center Report - The Separation Wall that the Israeli government is said to be building for security reasons stands at 8 meters (25 feet) high. This wall will approximately affect 90,700 Palestinian residents of 32 villages in the Qalqilya area and will isolate and thus effectively confiscate 47,020 dunums of land (11,755 acres) and will destroy another 7,750 dunums (1,937 acres). Six of the villages, with approximately 1,000 residents, will be completely trapped between the Wall and the 1967 Green Line; isolating them from the West Bank and effectively annexing them to Israel without being granted citizenship or legal rights. Land, which is the base of the economic lifeline of this area, is being taken away as it’s people watch helplessly. more

 Occupied Salfit: living in the stench of settlers’ sewage and in the shadow of the Apartheid Wall
IWPS House Report No. 52, Salfit, West Bank - Salfit is a region of the Occupied West Bank which has been plagued by land confiscation and water theft for many years. 65% of all West Bank settlers live in 19 settlements in the region, which has only 20 Palestinian villages. 45% of Salfit’s historic land has been confiscated over the years to build settlements (170 000 out of 270 000 dunums). For example, after the signing of the Oslo Accords, Revava settlement was enlarged 300%. more

 Wall chokes Palestinian hopes 
Ray Hanania in the Orlando Sentinel - Why is Israel building a barrier in an age when walls are being torn down? Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says it’s to prevent terrorism. But that’s not the real story. Sharon’s wall does three things: confiscates more Palestinian land, gives Israel control over all of the West Bank’s water, and imprisons Palestinians in an archipelago of ghettos intended to prompt Palestinians to “flee.” more

 The one-family Bantustan in Mas’ha one year into its residents’ demise
Anna (IWPS) in Mas’ha, West Bank - Hani unlocks a tiny gate embedded between an alarmed fence and an eight metre high concrete wall, and ushers the Danish television crew across a military road and quickly into his home. Two Canadian farmers, and three activists from Germany, South Africa and France are already seated inside, having come to interview Hani and Munira Amer on “life in the one-family Bantustan”, as their home has become known since Israel built the Apartheid Wall and three fences around it. Hani says that since today is the anniversary of the main catastrophe to befall his family, he wants to tell us about his life from the beginning. more

 Nuns on the Wall
Sr. Marie Dominique Croyal, Directress of the Home of Our Lady of Sorrows in East Jerusalem/Abu Dis - I would like to inform you about what is happening in our neighborhood and around our house concerning the construction of the new wall of separation, 9 meters high (30 feet), which began on January 11, 2004. It replaces a much lower wall that allowed people to climb over it once they were no longer permitted to go from Bethany and Abu Dis to Jerusalem. more

“We Can Do It”
Kate and Anna (Budrus, West Bank) - Budrus is a small village of 1200 people in West Ramallah, three kilometres from the green line. The Apartheid Wall’s bulldozers reached Budrus village three months ago, having already cut a swathe through the land of Qibbya, the neighbouring village. In 1953, Ariel Sharon led a massacre of 60 people in Qibbya and the site of the massacre is still visible today. more

 “You Belong in the Past”
Gabriel Ash in Yellow Times - An American columnist compares and contrasts life in Mas’ha, a Palestinian village, and in Elkana, an Israeli settlement, recently constructed on confiscated Palestinian land, and investigates the effect of the separation barrier Israel is building through the entire West Bank on these two communities. more

 The Separation Barrier
Nigel Parry in The Electronic Intifada - Israel’s Separation Barrier, dubbed the “Apartheid Wall” or “Berlin Wall” by Palestinians, has increasingly attracted international media attention, largely due to the hard-to-ignore scale of the project. The most obvious historical parallel to the barrier is the Berlin Wall, which was 96 miles long (155 kilometers). Israel’s barrier, still under construction, is expected to reach at least 403 miles in length (650 kilometers). The average height of the Berlin Wall was 11.8 feet (3.6 metres), compared with the maximum* current height of Israel’s Wall — 25 feet (8 metres). more