Women and the Wall

Although it comes under various and heavily loaded names – the security fence, the Apartheid Wall and the Annexation Wall to name but a few - the concrete wall and wire fence that cuts through and surrounds the West Bank in the Occupied Palestinian Territory imposes the same brutal reality on the women who have watched it rise since the first foundations were laid in 2003. For some Palestinian women it represents an end to education and lack of access to their family's land and means of economic survival. For others, it means the severing of traditional familial and social ties upon which they are dependent for friendship and support. For all, the XXX long structure stands as an unwelcome monument to successive Israeli governments that have put the wellbeing and advancement of its citizens above the concerns, rights and needs of the Palestinian population, regardless of the human cost.

If it is really a temporary and necessary measure to reduce attacks by Palestinians on Israeli citizens as claimed by the Israeli government, the route of the wall – deemed to be illegal by the International Court of Justice and even the Israeli Supreme Court - is illogical and contrary to its stated purpose. At present, only 20% of its actual and proposed course runs along the 1949 West Bank Armistice Line, or Green Line, with the total area located between the wall and the Green Line standing at 10.17% of the West Bank and East Jerusalem . At some points it deviates from the Green Line by up to 20km, cutting deep into the West Bank and isolating households and entire communities from their neighbors, places of employment and essential services. It separates farmers from their crops and children from their schools. In some cases, West Bank and East Jerusalemite Palestinians are now faced with the ludicrous situation of residing illegally in their own homes. Even the briefest analysis of the wall's route and character leads to the much more logical conclusion that its sole purpose is to seize valuable land and support the further expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

It is an ugly and imposing structure that provokes abject dismay upon first sight. However, it is only when the economic and social implications of its presence are considered that the true, devastating impact of the wall can be understood.

Two testimonies

The first story :

I'm a mother for 4 children, and I live in a village called ( Bethany ) near Jerusalem . My 4 children study in Jerusalem and they have such a hard time to get to their schools in Jerusalem .

The wall is really affecting our lives negatively especially my kids whom are getting very low grades these days at school because of the humiliation they face everyday by the Israeli soldiers when they try to cross the wall on their way to the school. Besides, a lot of time is wasted just waiting for the Israeli soldiers to allow them to pass.

I myself live with such fear and anxiety everyday waiting for my children to get back home.

Another story :

I'm Hadil; it's my third year in Al-Quds University which is located in Abu Dies. I live in (Ras Al-Amoud) only 7 minutes away of Abu Dies and outside the Wall. I used to go to the university by the regular transportation without any trouble. Now I have to walk through hilly areas just to get to the other side of the wall to get to my university. The way that used to take me 7 minutes time, takes me now 2 hours or more.

The most difficult thing I face is the soldiers that stop me from crossing the wall to the other side and throwing tear gas on the students including me of-course.