"Apartheid wall", Aref Assaf, Star Ledger, August 13, 2003
Israel is planning to encircle the West Bank with a 290-mile-long fence costing
more than $1 billion. While it was conceived before the current Israeli
government took power, Ariel Sharon has hijacked the plan by seeking not only to
build the wall along the Green Line separating Israel from the occupied
Palestinian area but by effectively taking a third of fertile Arab lands. The
U.S. government rightly questions the motive for the wall -- whether it is for
security or is a land grab before a final settlement is reached with
Palestinians.
While Israel has every right to protect its citizens, it must do so within its
borders. The barrier is the latest example of a devastating trend in which the
long-term security that Israelis desire and the state that Palestinians envision
are in danger of becoming mutually exclusive hopes.
While symbolic, America's threat to cut loan guarantees to Israel proportionate
to the cost of the wall represents a laudable policy shift. Security for Israel
and the Palestinians will not be achieved by this apartheid wall. It will come
only through a comprehensive and just peace based on the land-for-peace formula.
Aref Assaf, Denville
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