Published: 12 March 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
This year marks the 15th anniversary since construction of the wall began – a project conceived as a security need that was aggrandized into a highly potent political instrument. Its multiple aspects are reflected in the diverse names that have attached themselves to it: “security barrier,” “separation fence,” “the wall” and, the official designation, the “Jerusalem envelope.”
Its advocates focus on what they describe as its primary advantage: security. As proof that the wall is doing its job, they note the dramatic decrease in the number of suicide attacks that have occurred in Israel since the idea was first approved (43 such attacks in 2002, zero suicide attacks in 2012).
Advocates and detractors of the wall’s benefits can be found among right-wing and left-wing Israelis alike, as well as in the international community. Whatever one’s opinion, there’s no disputing the fact that the wall’s presence has caused no few upheavals in the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians
FULL STORY 15 Years of separation: The Palestinians cut off from Jerusalem by the Wall (Haaretz)
Photo: Barrier in Shoafat, Jerusalem (Olivier Fitoussi)
