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02-623-2344 |
Media Central Fact Sheet |
Israel’s Anti-Terror Security Barrier
Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah has publicly admitted that
Moussa Abu Marzouq, Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau
also confirmed that the carrying out of suicide attacks is made difficult by
the Israeli security fence surrounding
**Note: In the wake of the suicide bombing in Dimona
on February 5, 2008, the government of
The
plan for the Security Fence:
It will be built in stages. Stage 1 was complete in July 2003. As of July 2007, it was only 57% complete.
It will be 790 km long (490 miles).
96% of it is a multi-layer fence system. 4% is a solid barrier or wall, primarily in high sniper risk areas.
The width of the multilayer structure is 50 meters (approximately equal to a 4-lane highway).
Using the withdrawal from
Ministry of Defense stated reasons for the Fence:
·
Prevention of terror and weapons emanating from Judea and
·
Prevention and thwarting of uncontrolled passage of pedestrians,
cars and cargo from Judea and
·
Minimizing transfer of weapons from
·
Prevention of effective shooting against Israeli population and
vital infrastructure installations.
·
Law enforcement
Structure of the Fence:
The Security Fence is a multi layered composite obstacle comprised of several elements:
A ditch and a
pyramid shaped stack of six coils of barbed wire on the eastern side of the structure,
barbed wire only on the western side.
A path enabling
the patrol of IDF forces on both sides of the structure.
An intrusion- detection
fence, in the center, with sensors to warn of any incursion.
Smoothed strip of sand that runs parallel to the fence, to detect footprints.
Solid barrier system:
This particular
design is used in a minority of cases - a total of 8 km in the initial stages
of the project (4%). Its main purpose is to prevent sniper fire into
Various
observation systems are being installed along the fence alerting authorities,
beforehand, to attempted intrusions. IDF
and Border Police units will be deployed along the Security Fence under the
command of the IDF. Their deployment
requires coordination and cooperation governed by the mutual wish to discover a
terror act in its planning stage and thwart it.
The Fence Works:
The
In
Between September 2000
and August 2003 (just after the fence was installed) 73 attacks originated in
Between August 2003 and
the end of 2006, 12 attacks came from
In Judea, where there
is no fence (southern
Between April and
December 2002, there were 10 suicide attacks committed by terrorists
infiltrating from
In 2003, there were 11
attacks by suicide terrorists infiltrating from
Time Line:
July 2001: The Defense Cabinet approved the Security
Fence program (originally to prevent illegal entry to
June 2002: The Defense Cabinet approved, with minor
reservations, the plan based on the principle of a contiguous obstacle.
Aug.
2002: The route from
Dec. 2002: Stage B.
From
Aug. 2003: Stage C.
68 km circling
Oct. 2003: Stage D.
Elkana to
June
2004:
Feb 2005:
Apr 2006: The Cabinet changed the route of the fence
in several areas.
Ariel area- creation of two thin
settlement blocks instead of one.
The route of the already-constructed
fence in Alfei Menashe will be changed leaving three clusters of houses in Ras
a Tira, A- Dabaa and Wadi Rasha outside the fence, on the Palestinian side.
Beit Iksa near
The Palestinian village, Jaba which overlooks the Gush Etzion- Elah road, will
be inside the fence with a crossing built to allow residents of Jaba to travel
to the nearby Palestinian town Tzurif.
Eshkolot and Metzadot Yehuda in the southern Herbon Hills will be inside the
fence, however quarries will be left out.
The route from Metzadot to Har Choled, has been approved. The cabinet also
decided that the Police will be responsible for the Security Fence in
Legal Aspects and Appeals:
Land:
In building the fence, preference is given to using public land. When there is no other choice, the fence is built on private land. Even in these cases, every effort is made to avoid building on cultivated land. The private land is not expropriated from its owners. It remains the property of the original owners, who are eligible to receive one-time compensation for its seizure, as well as annual payment for its use. To date, dozens of requests for compensation and payment have been received.
Appeal procedure against
land seizure:
Upon issuance of an order
regarding the seizure of land, any person affected by the fence route may
submit objections. These objections are then considered, and when changes can
be made without negatively impacting upon operational considerations, such
changes are incorporated into the planning.
Indeed, changes of this type have been made often.
In those cases in which the objections are
not accepted, compromise solutions are sought.
In many cases, Israeli planners amended the route of the fence, or other
aspects of the project, following discussions held with local
Palestinians. If, after negotiations,
the sides still cannot find a solution, the property owner may petition
As of August 2007:
·
26 petitions
concerning the planned route of the Security Fence are still pending, to be
examined by the Israel Supreme Court:
7 deal with the fence in the
Jerusalem area 2
concern the planned route in the area of Jaba-Shomriya
2 concern changes to stage A of the fence 3 concern changes to stage D3 of the
fence
2 concern changes to stage C1 of the fence 2
concern the planned route in the Maale Adumim area
8 concern the planned route in Gush Etzion
·
One other
petition deals with the Lamed Hei (Jaba) fence crossing.
·
12 other
petitions on humanitarian issues are still pending - two of them
general petitions, and 10 requests to dismantle sections of the fence which
interfere with daily life.
·
So
far, 110 petitions have been dealt with by the Supreme Court.
Workers:
Number of Palestinians
allowed to work in
|
1987
(1) |
1991
(2) |
1992 |
1993
(3) |
1996 |
1998 |
January 2000 (4) |
mid-2002 |
end-2002 |
January 2004 |
March 2004 |
|
180,000 |
100,000 |
116,000 |
65,000 |
35,000 |
56,000 |
125,000 |
7,532 |
31,018 |
17,000 |
33,386 |
(1)
Before the “Intifada” (2) After the Gulf war (3)
Following the closure policy initiated by the Rabin government in
April (4) Before the Sept
2000 Palestinian violence
Living with the
Barrier:
About 100 agricultural crossings
currently exist along the fence route.
These crossings are for individuals who need access to their farming
lands and they are given a permit, for themselves and their workers to cross.
A tunnel is built to connect the land on
the eastern side of the wall to a “finger” of land that would be difficult to
reach otherwise—i.e. having to drive a long way around the fence where a tunnel
would considerably shorten the distance.
There are at least 2 tunnels built so far and currently in use; others,
including between Husan and
About 10 formal crossings exist for
Palestinians to cross into
Fence in Context:
Wikipedia mentions 31 “separation barriers” built,
being built or in planning stages around the world. Reasons given include terror, civil
pacification, anti-immigration, anti-smuggling and conflict zones. In 2004-5, it was reported that the EU
planned to build a fence to keep out Poles and Hungarians who were trying to
work in the EU. That fence is not on the
list of 31.
Links: The primary sources of information regarding
the Security Fence are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of
Defense.
http://securityfence.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/missionhome.asp?MissionID=45187&
