On Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, heralding the end of Communism and the beginning of a new era for Eastern Europe. Almost 14 years later, the United States is supporting the installation of another wall dividing a nation. The reason for the support of this state-sponsored terrorism against the Palestinian people is the United States' allegiance to Israel.
The wall is not being built on the Green Line, the actual border between Israelis and Palestinians, but instead cuts deeply into the West Bank, the area of major contention between Israeli and Palestinian territories.
The United States, and only the United States, vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution and chose not to condemn Israel for the wall, instead supporting a resolution calling for all Middle Eastern parties to dismantle terrorist groups.
The wall, with entry and exit points controlled by Israelis, will hold the Palestinian population in two sections that make up just 45 percent of the West Bank. It will be three times as long and twice as high as the Berlin Wall when completed. Construction of the 25-foot tall, solid concrete and barbed wire wall began in summer 2002. The first section of the wall will be an estimated 225 miles when finished, and Israel has proposed other sections for the Jordan Valley.
Israelis see the wall as a necessary protection against Palestinians in the West Bank. But security issues do not justify the confiscation of Palestinian lands and creation of areas where only Israelis can build their homes. Palestinian families are being divided and pushed off their land, land which holds the water and agricultural resources of their livelihood. Fertile lands and water sources are enclosed by the wall on the Israeli side while Palestinian farmers - farmers who have tilled the soil for years - are left landless on the other side.
Catherine Cook of Aventura News reported that as of last April, more than 3,500 acres of Palestinian land had been destroyed to open the path for the wall, and 100,000 agricultural trees have been uprooted. She notes that Israel plans to take 35 groundwater wells from Palestinians during the first phase of the wall's construction, and an additional 14 wells may be destroyed.
The wall will trap approximately 1.56 million Palestinians in 1,000 acres of urban area, Cook reported. Some areas are already enclosed on three sides by the encroaching wall. The Israeli government will require as many as 70,000 Palestinians to receive permission to live in their own homes and to cross the barriers being erected. Jewish residents and foreigners will be exempt from this restriction.
Israel's wall is, as ambassadors from many nations know, based on racism and the colonial desires of a nation that is unfortunately supported by the United States. The United States is in violation of its own laws against aiding a terrorist regime. As a tax-paying citizen, I have to wonder how much of my money is being funneled into terrorism. As a nation fighting a war on terrorism, neither we nor our allies can be exempt from the rules. The United States must support tolerance and compromise in the Middle East territorial conflict or risk dividing us from the world by arrogance and hypocrisy.
Audra Baker is ajournalism and biology major. Reach her at audra.baker@asu.edu.
