also known as: Apartheid Wall,
Separation Barrier, Security Fence, Fence
Israel began building its separation wall in the occupied West Bank in June 2002. Israel claims the wall is necessary for its own security.
The separation wall, which drew international condemnation, cuts deep into Palestinian territory and has resulted in the confiscation of large swaths of of fertile Palestinian land, the ghettoisation of Palestinian towns and villages and the cutting off of thousands of Palestinians from social services, schools, and their farmlands. In some places, the separation wall runs along the Green Line, but it primarily penetrates the West Bank by several kilometres (the Green Line is 340 km, while the wall, once completed, will be 790 km long).
On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice ruled that construction of the wall was “contrary to international law” because it involves the destruction and confiscation of Palestinian property and imposes severe restrictions on Palestinian movement. Further, the Court stated that Israel must “cease forthwith the works of construction of the wall being built in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including in, and around East Jerusalem,” return seized property and compensate Palestinian landowners whose interests have been damaged by its construction.