The most dramatic step since 1967
DANNY RUBINSTEIN
Ha'aretz, 1 March 2004
As construction of the separation fence continues, it becomes increasingly clear that this is the most dramatic step taken by the state of Israel since the occupation of Judea and Samaria in June 1967. In its current form, the fence will influence the nature of the conflict between us and the Palestinians more than any single event in the past 37 years; more than the annexation of East Jerusalem and the settlement enterprise, more than all of the wars fought since that time in Israel or the entire region, more than the Oslo Accords, and more than the Palestinian intifadas. The early results of the separation fence are already apparent.
The Palestinian leadership and street weigh their profits and losses from the fence nearly every day. The damage is obvious, and is publicized extensively on a constant basis. It focuses on the loss of agricultural land and denial of free passage that paralyzes critical services such as health and education in towns and villages that are under a virtual siege. In many places around the West Bank, the fence has already caused significant economic damage and human suffering.
Yet the Palestinians have also benefited. They are aware that the fence evokes anti-Israel responses around the world. Fences and walls usually carry a negative image, which has affected Israel's international standing. The Palestinian leadership has noted that the fence has sparked vociferous debate in many countries, mainly in Europe, regarding the legitimacy of Israeli rule in the territories, and in a few places, even the legitimacy of Israel's existence.
Generally speaking, the Palestinians were content with the hearings of the International Court in The Hague, although Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) was furious about the announcement of Western countries that they do not recognize the court's authority in this matter. "When the Palestinians use force, they are called terrorists, and when they appeal to a diplomatic-judicial tribunal, they are told that it has no relevance," Qureia said.
Israel is cognizant of the diplomatic damage caused by the fence's construction, but focuses on the only important fact: In those places where the fence has been completed, suicide terrorists no longer pass. Will it continue this way? It's hard to know. In the Gaza Strip, the fence has blocked the exit of suicide bombers for years, but that does not say much. Hamas saw that it was hard to get suicide terrorists out of Gaza, so it got them out of the West Bank instead. Like the thief who comes to an apartment building and sees that one apartment has an alarm system and the other does not - it is obvious which one he will opt to break into. Why should he work hard and endanger himself?
Construction of the fence has now been completed in Samaria, so it is true that attacks have not been launched from there recently; instead, the suicide bombers have been coming from Bethlehem and Hebron. And what will happen if and when the fence surrounding Jerusalem and around the southern West Bank is completed? Quite possibly, the handlers of the suicide bombers will start dispatching their people from among the approximately 250,000 Palestinians that live within the boundaries of Jerusalem.
Sitting this past Saturday in a restaurant near the Qalandiyah roadblock north of Jerusalem, you could hear people telling stories about all sorts of ideas and tricks for getting past the fence. They were telling about a certain crane in Samaria whose owner charged NIS 30 per person to hoist people over the fence, and made over NIS 1,000 in an hour. They were telling about drainage canals and electricity pylons and roofs of buildings close to the fence, from which it was possible to tie ropes and pass to the other side.
It is obvious to every Palestinian that the fence will become a battlefield. To them, it is the fence of an animal pen and when an entire people tries day and night to sabotage a fence, it is doubtful that it will be able to remain standing for long. "You will have to build floors and ceilings for separation, too," said someone, quoting an opinion piece by Ephraim Kleiman that ran in Haaretz on February 22.
From the Israeli perspective, the most accurate description of the fence is a fence of despair. The fence is an Israeli statement that there is no chance of a settlement with the Palestinians, that there is nothing to talk about with them. Therefore it matters not that it sows bitterness and hatred, and matters not that its construction throws more fuel on the bonfire of the conflict.