Posted on 10/02/2003 3:47:40 PM PDT by anotherview
Defense/Security
10:58 Oct 02, '03 / 6 Tishrei 5764
The complexities of the anti-terrorism partition fence are exceeded only by the complexities of the various opinions regarding the issue on both sides of the political spectrum.
The Cabinet decided yesterday to approve the security fence, but its winding route still leaves many question marks. "These are to the benefit of those who oppose the fence," says one of them, not for attribution, "as it will end up not being to the liking of anyone and will certainly not be able to serve as a political border in the future."
On the other hand, Kedumim Mayor Daniella Weiss continues to remain opposed to any aspect of a physical barrier in Yesha. "If we see a surveyor approaching the area, we will not let him work," she said today.
The fence will be built, in its next stage, east of Ariel and Kedumim, thus including them in the "Israeli" area - but will not be connected at this stage with the main north-south section along the Green Line (that which separated Israel and Judea/Samaria until 1967). This will thus leave a large open area without any fence at all for at least the next eight months, at which time the issue will be raised again with U.S. officials. Prime Minister Sharon said that the purpose is to avoid a confrontation with the United States - which officially opposes any barrier, and certainly one that does not follow the Green Line. It has been reported in Jerusalem that the Bush Administration is planning to maintain a "low profile" regarding Middle East diplomatic initiatives for the next 13 months, until after the American elections in November 2004.
To the north, much of the fence is already built - in some areas it is a large concrete wall - fairly adjacent to the Green Line. After swinging west to exclude Kalkilye and then east to include Alfei Menashe, the planned fence will run south along the Green Line all the way to the Jerusalem area, while a parallel fence will run roughly ten kilometers to the east for the protection of Jewish communities such as Nili-Naaleh and Dolev-Talmon.
South of Jerusalem, the barrier is planned to run to the east and south of the Gush Etzion bloc, thus including it on the "Israeli side," and from there will run roughly along the Green Line in Judea, keeping "border-line" communities such as Shekef, Eshkolot, Yatir, Maon, and Carmel "Israeli." No decision has yet been made on a fence separating the Jordan Valley from Judea and Samaria, and some other areas have also not been finalized.
Welfare Minister Zevulun Orlev (NRP) explained this morning that he voted for the above plan yesterday because of the fact that a main concern - keeping Ariel within the fence - was alleviated. In addition, he noted the advantage of the partition being built in stages, as well as the inclusion of Karnei Shomron, Elkanah, Beit Aryeh, and others on the "protected" side.
One minister, Meir Sheetrit, voted against the decision yesterday because it intruded too much into Yesha, while three others - Natan Sharansky, Avigdor Lieberman, and Benny Elon - voted against because it did so too little. The entire fence is to cost 4.5 billion shekels.
The section of the fence that passes near Beit Aryeh, within missile-firing distance of Ben Gurion International Airport, was also a matter of dispute with the Americans. Distancing the partition from the airport would cause local Arabs to lose their fields - and so a double fence is planned in the area, one around the Jewish communities and one around the Arab villages.
Kedumim's Daniella Weiss told Arutz-7 this morning that though Kedumim will be "protected," she will prevent any attempt to separate "between us and Shavei Shomron, and between us and Itamar and Sa-Nur. I'll do everything to make sure that doesn't happen."
The Yesha Council stated, "We remain steadfast that terrorism can be defeated by aggressive means, and not by hiding behind walls... The partition as decided upon yesterday, however, is clearly not a political wall, but rather a security partition, and is therefore a failure for those political elements who wished to take advantage of it as a springboard to create a Palestinian state in all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza."
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