October 23, 2007

The security barrier is a fence

Flying by helicopter along the entire northern half of Israel's security barrier sealing off most of the West Bank to lock out Palestinian suicide bombers brings home clearly a simple truth almost never mentioned in the U.S. and European media -- the security barrier is a fence, not a wall. Flying over the entire length of the barrier, or fence, from Tel Aviv east to Jerusalem then north again up to the Jordan Valley just south of the Sea of Galilee, or Lake Kinneret, gives a clear overview of the fence. Most of the Israeli security barrier surrounding Gaza is also a fence rather than wall. There are indeed areas where concrete walls have been erected, but for very specific and clear reasons -- to prevent Palestinian snipers from shooting at and killing Israeli civilians in Israel proper.

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