IV. Appendices

Article 1: Talking Points

No Way Around It

By Caravan Staff
October 27, 2003
reproduced with permission,
courtesy of www.caravanfordemocracy.org

A Work in Progress

Israel is building a barrier to keep terrorists out. After 3 years of Israeli carnage, Israel is taking another step to do what any responsible democratic government would and should do: protect its citizens.

The security fence being built by Israel on the West Bank is the latest propaganda target of the Palestinian Authority spin machine. According to the Palestinians, the fence is an infringement of their human rights and an affront to their struggle for statehood. Critics of the fence argue that it is a de facto border and will prevent the creation of a Palestinian state on contiguous territory. Frequently, Israel's detractors refer to an "apartheid wall."

For 35 years Israel avoided delineation of a border or the construction of a physical boundary. Why now?
Because more than 100 suicide bombers have crossed open fields and unimpeded trails to blow up Israeli civilians over the past three years.

If the PA were making any effort to cripple the terror network operating in PA-controlled territory, the fence would be unnecessary. Unfortunately, no such action has been undertaken. Often over the past three years, the Palestinian Authority gave active support to the terrorist organizations. A poll recently conducted by Public Opinion Research of Israel and The Palestinian Center for Public Opinion indicates a majority of Palestinians consider terror, even after the declaration of a Palestinian state, a legitimate form of statecraft.

Borders are decided through negotiations and agreed upon by two parties committed to living in peace. To date, Israel has not found such a partner and no such agreement has been reached. The land on both sides of the fence remains under Israeli jurisdiction -- in accordance to international law -- and Israeli forces will continue to operate on either side as necessary to protect Jewish lives.

The Facts

Quite expectedly, this issue is being brought to the forefront by Israel's detractors on college campuses. To respond to the propaganda, Caravan offers some useful facts:

• The fence is a military barrier and not a political barrier and can be removed if the PA moves against terror.
• The land used for the fence remains in the possession of the owners.
• Land use can be appealed, and in some cases, the route of the barrier has been changed upon appeal.
• Property owners are compensated for the use of their land. Farmers have access to their lands through gates.
• Contractors are responsible for carefully uprooting and replanting the trees. More than 60,000 olive trees have already been relocated.
• Only 10 percent of the 150-mile barrier will be a concrete wall. The remainder is a fence with sensors, cameras and other obstacles. The wall is being built in places where snipers have fired at passing motorists.
• A security fence separates the Gaza Strip from Israel and not a single suicide bomber from that area has infiltrated Israel.
• Barriers exist between Israel and Syria and Lebanon. Once Jordan and Israel signed their peace agreement, security barriers were dismantled.
• No Palestinian territory is being annexed.
• Construction of the barrier is supported by a majority of Israel's population and major political parties.
• The barrier is a preventive measure undertaken in accordance with Israel's inherent right of self-defense and according to article 51 of the UN Declaration.
• Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that Israel's security authorities must provide landowners with specific and individualized solutions to issues that arise in connection with the building of the barrier.
• Countries around the world use barrier walls and fences to prevent infiltration. The United States is building a fence along part of its border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants.