EAPPI photo gallery: photos by Sune
Construction of separation fe
nce, Qaffin village, West Bank, October 2002
See
14 October 2002 report by EA Sune from Denmark entitled "The Berlin Wall 2"
Construction work in a Palestinian olive grove in the West Bank town of Qaffin close to the separation barrier, which Israel is erecting between Israel and the West Bank. The work is guarded by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers in the pictures are instructing a group of internationals to leave as the location has been declared a closed military area.
The reason for the controversy is that the barrier does not follow the 1949 armistice line, the so-called Green Line, which constitutes the unofficial border between Israel and the West Bank. Instead, in most places the fence runs, or will run, on the Eastern, i.e. Palestinian side of the Line. This fact has at least four important implications:
1: Thousands of hectares of Palestinian farmland are now, or will end up, on the Israeli side of the fence.
2: Vast stretches of heavily cultivated Palestinian farmland have been or will be engulfed by the 50-100 meter security zone surrounding the barrier.
3: Many thousand Palestinian workers depending on jobs inside Israel proper will face severe difficulties or be altogether prevented from reaching their workplace.
4. At least eight Palestinian villages are or will be on the Israeli side of the fence. Even if most of their land will also remain on the Western side, the farmers' ability to sell their crop in the West Bank will be severely constrained.
The contractors who carry out the actual job of clearing the way for the separation barrier and its accompanying security zone engage private security staff to fend off potential resistance from the affected farmers. The guards are usually armed with handguns as well as sub-machineguns.
