In Defense of the Fence

Israel this week completed the first segment of a security fence designed to obstruct the ability of suicide bombers to enter Israel from the Palestinian territories. Palestinian suicide bomb and other terrorist attacks have killed over 800 and injured over 5,500 people in Israel over the past three years.

The fence, an electrified chain-link fence accompanied by motion detectors and adjacent patrol lines, will stretch 128 kilometers (80 miles). It will run roughly along the Green Line or 1949 armistice line that separates Israel from the West Bank.

Debating the Fence

Israeli View of the Fence:
The Israeli government insists the fence is for security reasons only and is not a political border. Israelis say the security barrier will help keep out suicide bombers and other attackers, noting that no bombers have come directly from Gaza, which is surrounded by a high security fence. In defense of the fence, Israelis quote the poet Robert Frost: "good fences make good neighbors."

Palestinian View of the Fence:
Palestinians believe the fence is an attempt by Israel to create the border of their future Palestinian State. They say that if the fence is for security reasons only, then it should be built entirely on Israeli land and should not encroach on any Palestinian land. Palestinians call the fence "racist" and compare it to the Berlin Wall.

American View of the Fence:
While the Bush administration calls the fence a "problem" and possible obstacle to the peace process, it understands Israel's need to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks. The U.S. is pressing the Palestinians to dismantle terrorist infrastructure so that Israel will not feel the need to build a security fence. The U.S. has not demanded that Israel halt construction of the fence, but it is watching to make sure the construction does not disrupt Palestinian lives and the peace process.

Defending the Fence

When someone is killing, maiming, harming, threatening or humiliating you and your loved ones, can you make peace with them? Can you even sit in the same room and talk with them? After three years of bloodshed, the level of hatred, fear and distrust is extremely high in the Middle East. The conditions for making peace are sorely lacking.

Separation is a practical way to lower the level of violence, reduce the hatred, fear and distrust, and restore conditions for peace. A fence is not the ideal solution to the Middle East. The ideal solution would be for both Israelis and Palestinians to accept and respect each other's presence, rights, history, values, beliefs, and ways.

However, a security fence, that is built with sensitivity for Palestinian concerns, can be an important first step toward that ideal solution. If the fence means that the next generation of Israelis won't live with the constant threat of terrorist attack and the next generation of Palestinians won't live with the feeling of being occupied by an enemy, then peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians can become a realistic hope.

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~ Lisa Katz

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