#38. Checkpoint 3: Apartheid Walls

(Originally posted June 2008)

(Graffiti is one response to the Israel-constructed Apartheid Wall. This stenciled image is at a Ramallah checkpoint. Photo taken by J.Good Fox, June 2008.)

OCCUPIED WEST BANK—In “Checkpoint 2,” I briefly discussed the gate-keeping process at these sites without describing the Apartheid Wall of which the checkpoints are a component. Before I continue writing on checkpoints, I would like to offer a few facts about the wall.

Apartheid Wall Facts:

• The Apartheid Wall is sometimes is referred to as a “partition,” a “security fence,” and a “separation barrier.” These terms attempt to turn attention away from the reality of what the wall actually is: a wall designed to impose Apartheid on the Palestinian People.
• In 2004, The International Court of Justice at The Hague issued a resolution calling for Israel to halt construction of the wall, and to dismantle the sections that it already had built.

Apartheid wall in Jerusalem. This wall is about 15 feet high, and cuts through neighborhoods. Photo taken by J. Good Fox, June 2008.

• If completed, the Apartheid Wall will be an estimated 403 miles in length and will have annexed or grabbed even more Palestinian territory including sources of water and farm lands.
• Construction of the Apartheid Wall will demolish Palestinian homes, schools, farms, and businesses and will isolate communities.
• The Apartheid Wall will “require” a buffer zone of 30 – 100 yards wide for electric fences, trenches, cameras, sensors, and security patrols.
• Construction of the Apartheid Wall involves massive destruction to the environment and will create ecological and climate adversities.
  
• Israel has surrounded Gaza Strip on three sides by an Apartheid Wall (and a heavily patrolled-Mediterranean Sea to the west), effectively making it the largest prison in the world. At this time, it is nearly impossible for Palestinians to leave Gaza and for Palestinians and other people to enter the area. B’tselem and other human rights groups are documenting the current environmental and humanitarian crisis occurring in Gaza.

(Above: Image showing loss of Palestinian land to the Israelis. In Stage 4 (far right), Gaza is on the right side and the West Bank (which contains Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Ramallah) is on the left. The Apartheid Wall will grab even more land from the Palestinians. Source: http://www.ccmep.org/delegations/maps/palestine.html)

• The construction of the Apartheid Wall involves dozens of concrete, information technology, and other types of companies. They include Catepiller, Inc. and Motorola.
• In addition to the wall, the Israelis use other barriers to discourage or prevent Palestinians from enjoying freedom of movement, including wires, boulders, and trenches.
• Obvious parallels to other walls include the Berlin Wall (1961-1989). More recently, the United States has begun to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded contracts for this wall to Boeing and an Israeli-company, Elbit Systems(which is also participating in the Apartheid Wall). The U.S. also is constructing walls in Iraq.

The checkpoints and the Apartheid Wall are among the most well-known symbols of the Israeli-perpetuated Apartheid system. In addition, the system includes Apartheid-based citizenship papers, permits, license papers, and color-coding. It includes roads on which Palestinians are forbidden to drive. It involves disinformation, doublespeak and other uses of language and imagery in the media, politics, educational system, and popular culture.

To echo the sentiments of Boaz Okon, the Apartheid Wall, indeed the entire Apartheid system against the Palestinians, is an act of which the Israelis, the U.S. and other nations will not be able to forgive themselves.

My Other Posts about Palestine:

• Checkpoint 1 – Thoughts on Outsourcing and Outlawing Indigenous Thinking
• Checkpoint 2 – A General Note on Checkpoints
• (Editorial) Palestine: Stop the Re-Creation of “Indian Country” in the Holy Land (published in Indian Country Today)

For more information about the Apartheid Walls, see:

World Court Resolution

Wall Information from The Electronic Intifada

What is a Separation Barrier?

Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network

“Checkpoint 3: Apartheid Walls” by Julia Good Fox is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.