West Bank Wall

West Bank Wall

West Bank Wall, Israel

The West Bank Wall walls off Israel from the West Bank. Built in phases from 1994, the Israeli West Bank Wall stretches 440 miles (708 km), mostly along the 1949 Armistice "Green" Line.

When the West Bank Wall was being built, there was a debate over whether it is a "fence" or a "wall." This barrier is 2-3 times taller and thicker than the Berlin Wall was in Germany. And unlike the Berlin Wall, sections of which were simply placed on the ground on triangular bases, the Israeli West Bank Wall is imbedded in poured cement foundation and has built-in guard towers (above), therefore appears more permanent than the Berlin Wall.

However, the West Bank Wall is a wall only in the most strategic 10% of its length (above is the wall at the Bethlehem checkpoint). The rest of "wall" is actually a fence running alongside a trench that is wide enough to stop a truck from being driven through it. Israel cited the need to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from crossing into Israel as the reason for building the barrier, which has served the stated purpose, as the number of suicide bombing attacks plummeted after its completion.

But instead of strictly following the 1949 Armistice "Green" Line, the wall runs through Palestinian towns and villages, isolating them, separating neighbors and even people from their own vegetable gardens.

Why?

Life is tough for the Palestinians by design because Israel wants them to emigrate, tilt the population growth in its favor, and free up land for more Jewish settlements, hence the disruptive route of the wall, Palestinian commuters to Israel being made to queue at checkpoints at 2 AM in order to enter Israel by 8 AM, etc. There is also a political effort to block Christians from reaching the Palestinians.

Why?

American Christians today turn a blind eye to the oppression of the Palestinians, but that could change if significant numbers of Palestinians were to become Christian (see Palestinian Christians).