07 Feb. 06

B'Tselem is in the midst of its campaign to change the route of the Separation Barrier. The campaign focuses on the barrier's long and winding route, which is designed to enable expansion of the settlements at the expense of security considerations. The campaign materials demonstrate the harm that the route causes to Palestinians, and the ease with which the harm could be prevented or, at least, substantially reduced.

Under the slogan "People Live on the Other Side Too" the campaign includes a series of full-page ads in Israel's daily press, Website banners, and more.

The campaign points out the Israeli public's right to security, and shows that, if Israel needs a security fence, it can be built along a route that does not violate human rights to such a great extent. The ads tell the personal stories of Palestinians who suffer daily as a result of the barrier. B'Tselem explains how Israeli officials selected a route that is long, winding, expensive, and difficult to defend, a route that simultaneously impairs our security and the rights of Palestinians. And why? To annex existing settlements and land to build new settlements.

B'Tselem's Website now contains video testimonies that document the harm caused to Palestinians by the route chosen for the Separation Barrier.

In one of the testimonies, Ibrahim Shatarah, who has olive groves that are situated west of the barrier, in the area of 'Azzun Village, tells how he lost much of his crop. Israel prohibits his laborers from crossing through the gate in the barrier to get to the groves. Being elderly and ill, Shatarah is unable to work his land by himself.

In another testimony, Dharifah Shareb, a resident of Jayyus, tells how the barrier detached her house from the village and turned it into an enclave surrounded on all sides. To go to and from their home, she and her family must pass through a gate in the barrier, which the IDF opens only three times a day, for no more than fifteen minutes each time. There have been times that members of her family have had to wait hours by the gate before being allowed to pass.

According to Israel's plan, the Separation Barrier will surround 15 settlements in the northwest part of the West Bank and create two "fingers" (Ari'el and Qedumim) that penetrate deeply into Palestinian territory. These fingers will remain on the "Israeli" side of the barrier. They will separate the Palestinian villages and urban centers on the two sides of these fingers, and will completely disrupt the fabric of life in these areas. Many local residents will have to go long distances to reach nearby urban centers, which were once readily accessible.

More than two-thirds of the land area of the fingers (80,000 dunams [20,000 acres]) lies outside the jurisdictional area of the settlements, and most of it is farmed by Palestinians. With implementation of the plan, thousands of Palestinian families who earn a livelihood from farming will have to obtain permits from the army and will be dependent on operation of the agricultural gates. Past experience shows that such a situation severely restricts the farmers' ability to work their land and market their produce.

The route chosen around the Qedumim finger winds along the main road joining Qalqiliya and Nablus, and cuts across it in four places. As a result, whole sections of the road lie on the "Israeli" side of the fence, and Palestinians will be forbidden to use them. This road is a main artery, serving thousands of residents on their way to and from work, medical treatment, school, and shopping.

15 Palestinian villages south of this road will be enclosed in an enclave, access to which will be possible only from the north. To reach Ramallah, or any other town or village south of the fingers, the residents of these villages will have to drive a long distance north to go around the fingers.

The de facto annexation of these lands, which lie deep inside the West Bank, will create a wedge that will sever the northern part of West Bank from the central and southern parts. This complete break in territorial contiguity will significantly impair the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

'Itaf Khaled, 57, her husband, and their six children live in Jayyus, Qalqiliya District. For years, the family has earned a living from farming, but now the Separation Barrier separates them from their farmland. The barrier's route was determined with the express purpose of leaving land on the "Israeli" side for the establishment of a new settlement. As a result, the residents of Jayyus are separated from 70% of their land.

After the barrier was built, 'Itaf Khaled and her husband and three of their sons were issued permits to pass through the agricultural gate near Jayyus so they could get to their farmland. Since January 2005, the Civil Administration has refused to issue permits to her husband and sons, and she has had to work the land alone. She is in poor health, which reduces even further the minimal amount of farm work that she could do by herself.

In her testimony to B'Tselem, Khaled stated that her husband had reached agreement with another farmer, whereby the farmer works her family's land in exchange for one-third of the crop. However, the farmer did not invest the same time and energy as the Khaled family had done in the past, and production suffered as a result. Now, her husband and sons sit at home without work, while their crop goes to waste.