WEST BANK: Palestinians in the occupied West Bank reflect on the impact of the West Bank barrier, which former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spearheaded during his premiership
Record ID:
564850
WEST BANK: Palestinians in the occupied West Bank reflect on the impact of the West Bank barrier, which former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spearheaded during his premiership
- Title: WEST BANK: Palestinians in the occupied West Bank reflect on the impact of the West Bank barrier, which former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spearheaded during his premiership
- Date: 13th January 2014
- Summary: AL RAM, WEST BANK (JANUARY 13, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VIEW OF ISRAEL'S BARRIER AS SEEN FROM THE WEST BANK VILLAGE OF AL-RAM, NORTH OF JERUSALEM ISRAELI ARMY WATCHTOWER VARIOUS OF CARS DRIVING BY BARRIER QALANDIYA, WEST BANK (JANUARY 13, 2014) (REUTERS) GRAFFITI OF LATE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT AND IMPRISONED FATAH LEADER, MARWAN BARGHOUTI CARS DRIVING TOWARDS QALANDIA CHECKPOINT WATCHTOWER RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (JANUARY 13, 2014) (REUTERS) DEPICTION OF ISRAELI BARRIER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF THE STOP THE WALL CAMPAIGN, JAMAL JUMA, SAYING: "The barrier re-established the geopolitical map in the West Bank. When Israel built this wall, it built it in a way that enabled it to completely control the Palestinians, their future, their economy, movement, life and resources." BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (JANUARY 13, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VIEW OF ISRAEL'S BARRIER IN THE WEST BANK CITY OF BETHLEHEM AS SEEN FROM ABOVE VARIOUS OF BARRIER SNAKING INTO BETHLEHEM TERRITORY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BETHLEHEM RESIDENT, JIRIES QUMSIEH, SAYING: "The wall in Bethlehem has had, and continues to have, a negative impact, as it does on all other Palestinian cities. In Bethlehem specifically, since its main lifeline is tourism, the wall has separated it from its twin city, Jerusalem, for the first time in history. Sharon today goes to his grave but this wall is still here. We hope, wish and pray that the day will come when this big pest that surrounds Bethlehem and the other cities in Palestine, will be uprooted." BARRIER AND WATCHTOWER IN BETHLEHEM BARRIER WATCHTOWER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BETHLEHEM RESIDENT, DAVID TABASH, SAYING: "This wall was built during the Sharon government. Sharon today is dead but this wall is still here, so we still have faith that just like Sharon is gone, the wall and settlements will disappear. And we still have faith in freedom and liberty in the Palestinian state." CARS PARKED NEXT TO BARRIER GRAFFITI ON WALL READING (English): "WITH LOVE AND KISSES NOTHING LASTS FOREVER"
- Embargoed: 28th January 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: West bank
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA53Y5NDQ8SR4OPIJK8B3IKC5LE
- Story Text: The barrier wall that snakes through the West Bank, stands tall as a part of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's legacy.
Sharon was laid to rest on Monday (January 13) with dignitaries attending the funeral for a man who was seen as a war hero. But he was also resented by many, among them Palestinians.
His death has reopened the debate into his policies, with foes denouncing his ruthless style in military operations while friends praised him as a strategic genius.
The 85-year-old left historic footprints on the Middle East: he spearheaded military campaigns in several wars with the Arab world, expanded Jewish settlement-building on land the Palestinians want for a state, and built a 790 km (491 miles) barrier in the West Bank with towering watchtowers.
Under Sharon's premiership, Israel started building the barrier, a mix of metal fencing, barbed wire, watchtowers and concrete walls, in 2002 in response to a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings. It says the barrier keeps its citizens safe from militants.
Palestinians reject that idea, and say the barrier denies them a viable state, separates them from other villages and cities, limits their movements and stunts their economic growth.
Jamal Juma, head of the Stopthewall campaign, says the barrier is a unilateral Israeli attempt to establish a border that will prejudice negotiations for a future state alongside Israel.
"The barrier re-established the geopolitical map in the West Bank. When Israel built this wall, it built it in a way that enabled it to completely control the Palestinians, their future, their economy, movement, life and resources," Juma said.
Built mostly within occupied land and not on the "Green Line", which was Israel's de facto border before the 1967 Middle East War, the barrier inside the West Bank is deemed illegal by the U.N.'s International Court of Justice.
Israel has continued building the barrier in defiance of the 2004 non-binding ruling.
The barrier has also drawn other international condemnation. Even Israel's main ally, the United States, has called it unhelpful.
Human rights groups say the barrier has effectively isolated some 60,500 Palestinians from the rest of the West Bank, and thousands more live in villages surrounded on at least three sides by the barricades, which restricts their freedom of movement.
In the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Jiries Qumsieh said despite the fact that Sharon had died, the wall remained ever-present, together with its negative impact.
"The wall in Bethlehem has had, and continues to have, a negative impact, as it does on all other Palestinian cities. In Bethlehem specifically, since its main lifeline is tourism, the wall has separated it from its twin city, Jerusalem for the first time in history," Qumsieh said.
"Sharon today goes to his grave but this wall is still here. We hope, wish and pray that the day will come when this big pest that surrounds Bethlehem and the other cities in Palestine will be uprooted," he said.
Rights groups cite the difficulties created by the barrier for Palestinians to access health care, education, farming lands and, in some cases, family members. The barrier, they say, surrounds some 125,000 Palestinians on three sides, and another 26,000 on all four sides.
Bethlehem resident David Tabash said Palestinians remained hopeful that one day the West Bank barrier would fall, just like other walls in history.
"This wall was built during the Sharon government. Sharon today is dead but this wall is still here, so we still have faith that just like Sharon is gone, the wall and settlements will disappear. And we still have faith in freedom and liberty in the Palestinian state," Tabash said.
'Nothing lasts forever' is part of a slogan painted on the wall, and for many people here they hope that that's the case with the towering concrete barrier. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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