FEBRUARY 2004
The Barrier, a Two Edged Sword Ghassan Andoni-IMEMC-Analysis, January 24, 2004 To the first look, it sounds strange for the Palestinian Authority and the extreme right wing Zionists to stand together against the separation wall and Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan. While Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei refrains from resuming negotiations unless the government of Israel halts the construction of the barrier, the right wing parties in Israel managed to gather more than 120,000 protesters against Sharon's disengagement plan, for which the separation wall stands as the cornerstone. Even the "mainstream" right in Israel is not happy with the barrier. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom avoided to answer to wether Israel would be willing to move the barriers to the green line, but told AP, on Friday, "We won't even need it anymore. We don't like this fence. We didn't build the fence from 1967 to 2002." As the Palestinian authority envision the barrier as a major obstacle to their dream of a viable Palestinian state, the "national" camp in Israel is concerned that the removal of any settlement could result in de-legitimizing the cornerstone of the Zionist ideology and even more concerned that forced modifications to its current route might force it to run close to the green line, paving the way for a permanent irreversible division of the Holy Land. The barrier would force Palestinians, with their own undeveloped, but a critically damaged, economy and infrastructure, to walk the painful passage of disengagement away from a modern and advanced economy, which provides thousands of job opportunities and presents the only available short term solution to poverty and the exponentially growing unemployment. At the same time, a barrier that, as well, slices and isolates Palestinian areas from one another, would increase dramatically their living hardships and destroy their dreams for freedom and a better future. The barrier is most popular among Israelis who value more the idea of Israel being a Jewish state with a decisive Jewish majority. Most of the center down to the Zionist left in Israel is looking at the barrier as solution to both security and demography related problems. It appears as an escape from the failed attempt to force coexistence that guarantees a comfortable level of domination over Palestinians. In practice, the Zionist center and left separation idea stands at the center of the right wing government program. Attempts to twist the separation idea to fit the ideology and the need of the right-wing coalition turned the separation idea, which is the cross road at which the interests of the Zionist center and left and that of the Palestinian Authority meet, into a political tool. Regardless of repeated American complaints regarding the Israeli government hesitation in implementing its promise to dismantle "illegal" settlers' outposts, most of them are still in place. The U.S. National Security Advisor complained openly that American messages to Israel are arriving at deaf ears or being ignored. Removing settlers' outposts and evacuating "isolated" Settlements stands as the second most important accompaniment in Sharon's unilateral plan for disengagement from Palestinians, after the construction of the barrier. The failure, wether intentional or not, to remove illegal outposts, which consists of few caravans and garbage cans, is a serious indicator that the current government is either unwilling or incapable to implement the settlers' related part of the disengagement plan. It refutes the long standing belief, locally and internationally, that only a right wing Prime Minister can evacuate settlements. An idea that emerged after ex-Prime Minister Menahem Beigin and his defense minister then Ariel Sharon dismantled by force Sinai settlements. Twisting the separation idea to meet the right wing policies and ideology stands behind the weird and impossible effort to defend (according to Israeli Justice Minister Labid) the barrier route. Similar to the line drawn in 1967 to define the borders of Jerusalem, the right wing followed the criteria of "as much land as possible, as little Palestinians as possible". All complains about the unbelievable length of the barrier (680 Km) and its financial cost were met with deaf ears. Palestinian complaints about the barrier being used for major land grabs are not unfounded. Their fears that the barrier is forcing Palestinians to live in isolated reservations are easily seen as you travel along the already constructed parts of the barrier. The first impact, of the barrier defense that the Israeli government presents, is its pre-emptive effect against bombing attacks inside Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom presented the issue in a dramatic but true way, saying "barriers are reversible human lives are not". Yet, the same result could have been achieved by building the barrier at the green line, the cost would have been far less and time needed for construction would have been much less and could have saved many of the lost lives. It is beyond any doubt that the barrier is based both on security needs and the political and ideological agenda. With the right wing standing at the top of the echelon, ideology and political factors are evidently overweighing security. The immediate effect of the barrier, besides causing tremendous hardships to "innocent civilians", is bringing the diplomatic process into a total halt. In his latest interview with AP, Shalom presented the barrier as a political tool ; he had invited the Palestinian PM Qurei to sit at the negotiations table to discuss the barrier. Shalom warned that the allowing the International Court of Justice to look into the barrier issue would destroy the peace process by allowing Palestinians an alternative to negotiations. Shalom said Friday that the Palestinians should return to the negotiating table because Israel is ready to make changes in the controversial barrier built in the West Bank to prevent terror attacks. "The fence is reversible," Shalom said. Qurei refrained from meeting with Sharon before Israel halts the construction of the barrier. The diplomatic road map process, which started as a tool to help solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is gradually turning into an aim. Shalom is in reality offering to turn the whole negotiation process into an endless process to re-establish the basis of the road map plan to meet the 14 Israeli reservations, which Sharon indicated when he accepted the Road Map. DAVOS, Switzerland - Jordan's Foreign Minister
Marwan Muasher said Sunday that Arab states need
to explain their peace proposals to Israelis - he
said Israel also had to state unequivocally that
it would implement the U.S.-backed
"roadmap'' peace plan in full, including
acceptance of a Palestinian state on the basis of
the border from before the 1967 Mideast war. |
‘Cry the beloved country’*! Your heart and veins are being cut out by those monsters from foreign lands. They hate you my country!
Cry for the uprooted olive trees, the hacked orange groves, the raped landscape, the bull-dozed homes, the children in windowless prison cells, and the population which tended you for hundreds of years dead or in concentration camps….
Cry for the knife that the alleged descendants of Solomon are running through your shivering body in much the same manner that the wise Solomon suggested in his efforts to find out the true mother of the contested baby….
The hate you my country! Will you ever again be held in the bosom of those who truly loved you, my country?
Cry the beloved country! and, until you manage to throw off the heavy boot stomping on your neck, we are crying with you the beloved country!]
*with due respect to Alan Paton,from Raja Mattar.
Where day to day living has had its heart cut out
Chris McGreal in Abu Dis : Excerpts
Tuesday January 20, 2004
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1126633,00.html
Fatina Zen stayed until the end, peering down her street through the lashing rain as towering concrete slabs were slotted into place one by one across the middle of the road. She wondered if her son might suddenly appear on the other side to wave goodbye but he never came. The 52-year-old grandmother finally left once the latest section of Israel's "security fence" - recently renamed the "terror prevention fence" to improve its image abroad - had bisected the street as it worms its way through the Jerusalem Arab neighbourhood of Abu Dis.
Except that in Abu Dis it is not a fence but an eight metre-high wall (27ft) that has divided families and torn apart a longstanding community.
"I can't bear it," said Mrs Zen, who until a few days ago lived a three minute walk from her two adult children and four grandchildren.
"My son came to visit me two or three times a day. ."
But it is now a journey of about 15 miles to travel a distance that could be covered in a couple of minutes a week ago. And it is not always swift.
Mrs Zen says she would consider moving the other side of the wall, but both she and her husband need regular hospital treatment for heart conditions and cannot get that outside of Jerusalem. Her children need to stay put for their work
The United Nations humanitarian affairs office said that the wall will severely disrupt Palestinians access to schools, hospitals and work.
"The terror built the fence," said
Ariel Sharon, "If not for the terror, maybe we would
not have done it at all. But I think it's very important
to know that when it comes to security, there will be no
compromises: not now, not in the future. Never!"
From Raja Mattar
Illustration, adapted from
Philip Guston's picture of President Nixon, USA.-