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August 03, 2003
When Bad Neighbors Require Good Fences
Israel isn't the only country which has built a fence to keep people out.
The border security fence is comprised of many sections totaling scores of miles. Some sections are concrete, others sheet metal. The barrier is three layers deep in parts, fifteen feet high and surrounded by razor wire. The area around it is lit by spotlights, monitored by cameras, motion detectors and magnetic sensors, and patrolled by armed guards with attack dogs.But enough about our border with Mexico, let's talk about Israel.
Although theoretically Israel's borders with a future Palestinian state are open to negotiation, it is disingenuous to deny that the fence creates "facts on the ground." But Robbins points out that this cuts both ways.
By defining Israel's border, it will also define Palestine's. The fence will be as much a statement of Palestinian territoriality as Israeli. It will mark the limit of officially sanctioned Israeli settlements, and mean an end to Israeli expansion. In fact, the fence was first proposed by Israeli leftists precisely to detach Israel from the settlement movement, which at its most radical opposes any border west of the Jordan River. Thus while the Palestinians may not be inclined to accept the route the fence takes (which is still largely yet to be determined in planning, let alone construction), the fact is that once completed it will go a long way to end the territorial question. [emphasis mine - Ed.Read the whole thing.
UPDATE: The US State Department has no objection to India's fence on the Pakistan border. My interpretation of Boucher's gobbledygook is that the India-Pakistan fence is okay because the borders have already been decided.
Other fences no one seems to have a problem with.
(both via LGF comments)
Judith | 08/03/03 at 01:22 PM | Categories: - Israel vs. the world
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