Why Does Israel’s Illegal Separation Wall Still Stand?
May 26, 2018 in Blogs
The 400-mile wall meant to divide Israelis from Palestinians along the West Bank features concrete slabs that rise to more than 25 feet tall in some sections and exists as a fence in others. Construction started in 2002 by Israel for “security,” but according to the international community and law, its existence is illegal, given that the overwhelming majority of the ”separation barrier” stands not inside Israel's borders or even on the Green Line that splits Israel from occupied territory, but inside the West Bank.
“Israel made great efforts to loop the barrier around settlements and strategic areas of the West Bank that it wished to keep on its side under any future peace deal,” the New York Times said. “Most of the barrier ended up east of the pre-1967 line, inside West Bank territory, prompting international criticism and creating humanitarian problems for thousands of Palestinians trapped in enclaves between the barrier and Israel proper.”
To Palestinians and their international supporters, it is an “apartheid wall.” Neighborhoods were arbitrarily sliced, families were isolated from each other and people were cut off from their work, education and resources. Palestinians, who work in Israel or in the settlements, have to line up hours before their shifts each day to trek through a series of checkpoints. In 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled 14-1 that this wall violated international law because of its confiscation of occupied Palestinian land and the way it severely restricted the movement and self-determination of Palestinians.
In “Broken,” a new documentary to be released in June, Palestinian-American filmmaker Mohammed Alatar examines the groundbreaking court ruling and why 14 years later, the wall still stands. Over an intense three-year process, Alatar traveled to Germany, Holland, Jordan, the U.S., and around Israel and Palestine to interview key figures in this decision, and to obtain footage from the trial and the UN hearings leading up to the court ruling and its aftermath.
Alatar talked to one of the wall's architects, members of the Palestinian legal team, a former legal adviser to the Israeli foreign …read more
Source: ALTERNET
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