The Separation Barrier

In June 2002, the government of Israel decided to erect a physical barrier to separate Israel and the West Bank, its declared objective being to prevent the uncontrolled entry of Palestinians into Israel. In most areas, the barrier is comprised of an electronic fence with dirt paths, barbed-wire fences, and trenches on both sides, at an average width of 60 meters. In some areas, the defense establishment decided to build a concrete wall six to eight meters high in place of the barrier. The length of the system – already built, under construction, or in planning – is 709 kilometers, a distance twice as long as the Green Line.

Since the Cabinet's decision to build the Separation Barrier, Palestinians have filed dozens of petitions against the Barrier's route. In June 2004, the Supreme Court held, in the matter of a petition filed by a number of villages northwest of Jerusalem, that most of the route planned around these villages was illegal, and that the state must propose another route. In light of the judgment, Prime Minister Sharon directed the defense establishment to reconsider the route. A new route was proposed, and the Cabinet approved the amended route in February 2005.

In September 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that the state must alter the route around the Alfe Menashe settlement, which enveloped the Palestinian villages Wadi Rasha and Ras a-Tira. In September 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the state must alter the Barrier’s route around the village Bil’in, and thereby return to the village 700 dunams of land that had been taken to expand the Modi’in Illit settlement. Still, 1,500 dunams of Bil’in land remained on the western side of the Barrier.

Eighty-five percent of the amended route runs through the West Bank, and not along the Green Line. In areas where the Barrier has already been built, the extensive violations of human rights of Palestinians living nearby are evident. Further construction inside the West Bank, in accordance with the Cabinet's decision of February 2005, causes additional human rights violations affecting hundreds of thousands of local residents.

The construction of the barrier has brought new restrictions on movement for Palestinians living near the Barrier's route, in addition to the widespread restrictions that have been in place since the outbreak of the current intifada. Thousands of Palestinians have difficulty going to their fields and marketing their produce in other areas of the West Bank. The areas west of the Barrier are one of the most fertile areas in the West Bank, and the agriculture there generates, according to the World Bank, 8 percent of Palestinian agricultural production. The harm to the farming sector prevents Palestinian farmers from gaining additional income and prevents an increase in the number of Palestinians working in agriculture, which is a major sector of the Palestinian economy.

The restrictions on freedom of movement also impair access of rural Palestinians to hospitals in nearby towns, harm the educational system since many schools, primarily in rural areas, are dependent on teachers who live outside the community, and hamper family and social ties.

In early October 2003, the OC Central Command declared the area between the Separation Barrier in the northern section of the West Bank (Stage 1) and the Green Line a closed military area for an indefinite period of time. New directives stated that every Palestinian over the age of twelve living in the enclaves created in the closed area have to obtain a "permanent resident permit" from the Civil Administration to enable them to continue to live in their homes. Other residents of the West Bank have to obtain special permits to enter the area.

Israel has installed dozens of checkpoints and gates along the completed sections of the Barrier, through which permit holders are allowed to pass. However, requests of many Palestinians for permits to enter their land are rejected, either on grounds of security, or on the contention that the applicant has not provided sufficient proof of ownership of the land or family relation to the landowner. Moreover, a permit from the Civil Administration does not guarantee that the holder will be allowed to pass through the gate: when the army declares “total closures” on the Occupied Territories, the permits do not apply.

According to figures the state provided to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the number of permanent permits given to farmers living east of the Barrier to enable them to work their land west of the Barrier dropped by 83 percent from 2006 to 2009 (from 10,037 to only 1,640). During this period, the amount of Palestinian land west of the Barrier grew by 30 percent, and now stands at approximately 119,500 dunams.

In addition, many residents have to travel long distances, usually along unpaved roads, to get to their gate. The difficulty and expense in gaining access to their land have turned farming into an unfeasible venture, and many residents do not exercise their right to go to their land and work their primary source of livelihood.

In setting the Barrier's route, Israeli officials almost totally ignored the severe infringement of Palestinian human rights. The route was based on extraneous considerations completely unrelated to the security of Israeli citizens. A major aim in setting the route was de facto annexation of part of the West Bank: when the Barrier is completed, 9.5 percent of the West Bank, containing 60 settlements, will be situated on the western – the “Israeli” – side, and Israeli politicians already relate to the Barrier’s route as Israel’s future border.

Israel has the right and duty to protect its citizens from attacks. However, the building of the Separation Barrier as a means to prevent attacks inside Israel is the most extreme solution that causes the greatest harm to the local population. Israel preferred this solution over alternate options that would cause less harm to the Palestinians. Even if we accept Israel 's claim that the only way to prevent attacks is to erect a barrier, it must be built along the Green Line or on Israeli territory.