After a month of living in Israel only a few kilometers away from the West Bank, I finally caught a glimpse of the infamous "separation fence." I expected to see an ugly and menacing barrier snaking its way through Israel's rocky terrain.
And I did.
This barrier -- sometimes a towering concrete wall, in other places a mesh fence complete with razor wire, electronic sensors and guard posts -- scars the beautiful, rugged Judean Hills. It plows through olive fields and orchards, and slices up neighboring cities, such as Kfar Saba and the Arab town of Qalqiliya.
As I gazed upon the seemingly never-ending barrier, I almost wondered why anyone would ever want this tremendous eyesore in their backyard.
But, of course, I knew why. Rarely does the ink on the obituary page of the Jerusalem Post dry before another round of terrorism claims more victims.
The security fence, planned to stretch more than 400 kilometers around the West Bank, has invited a round of criticism of Israel unparalleled since the Israeli Air force bombed Osirak, Saddam Hussein's nuclear plant, in 1984. This time, the international community has even enlisted The Hague to hear the case. It seems that Arab antipathy of Israel will lead to the delegitimization of the international court, just as it did to the United Nations.
The fence, however, has irked more than the usual crowd. Israeli settlers, ultra-left doves and the Palestinian Authority have virtually formed an unholy alliance dedicated to halting the fence's construction. They all have their unsavory motives -- I guarantee that human-rights violations rank quite low on their list.
Perhaps these protestors sense an end of an era. The fence could quite possibly end the four years of the intifada's senseless violence. Some woefully portend the establishment of a Palestinian state, and thus the emergence of peace. However, few of these critics offer a reasonable alternative to the fence. Beside the fact that many of these critics do not desire the establishment of two states, no feasible alternatives exist. Israel already has explored every available option in dealing with terrorism: curfews, house demolishings, targeted assassinations ... the list goes on. The hard-line Sharon government even agreed to a cease-fire with terrorists that expectedly collapsed after just a few weeks, when Hamas chose to detonate a crowded bus in Jerusalem.
Could you imagine President Bush agreeing to a cease-fire with al-Qaida? I don't think so. That's how willing Israel is to terminate the violence. There are just no other options available for Israel to protect its citizens.
Yes, the fence is a sad reality of the Middle East, but, if it will lead to a reduction of violence, I say go for it. A fence already surrounds the Gaza Strip. Since its construction, not a single suicide bomber has successfully entered Israel to detonate. Even though the fence is only one-third complete, a drastic reduction in the number of successful attacks on Israelis is evident. Some critics view Sharon's fence as an elaborate attempt to steal land from the Palestinians. It is true that the fence dips into Palestinian territory to protect border settlements.
What, though, is the alternative? Should Israel desert these citizens because they live in a town a few meters east of the Green line? It is true that these border settlements will be annexed to Israel, which has, however, intimated that it would consider exchanging land in order to avoid "stealing" it.
The completion of the fence might allow the Israeli Army to scale back its increasingly draconian incursions into Palestinian towns. Perhaps army presence in the West Bank can be diminished, if not terminated. Palestinians might be able to resume their own lives, no longer in fear of becoming collateral damage during terrorist shoot-outs. Maybe it will make joining terrorist groups less tempting, and the idea of becoming a "martyr" less appetizing. Perhaps Palestinian families will no longer encourage their children to become bombers against Israelis. There might even be an outside possibility that someone in the Palestinian Authority will start to seriously negotiate with Israel.
Of course, these possibilities cannot exist if the fence isn't constructed. The construction of this horrid fence is undesirable for everyone. Yet again, we could simply continue to listen to repudiators of peace and those uninterested in the futures of the Middle East and Israel.
