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Constructing Jerusalem's Security Wall

(AP/Guardian-UK) Rachel's Tomb, the traditional burial site of the biblical matriarch, is on the northern edge of Bethlehem, less than 500 yards from the Jerusalem city limits. Israel retained control over the holy site after it withdrew from Bethlehem in 1995, as part of interim peace agreements. In the past 29 months of fighting, Palestinian gunmen have frequently shot at soldiers guarding the site, and Jewish worshipers must currently travel there by armored bus. After several suicide bombers from Bethlehem carried out terror attacks in Jerusalem killing dozens of people, Israel's security Cabinet approved the construction of a series of barriers around the city intended to keep out Palestinian terrorists. Palestinians living near Jerusalem's southern edge have received notices that the IDF is taking over 3 1/2 acres (14 dunams) for the construction of the security wall. Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser said about two dozen homes are affected. Financial Times reports that 35 mainly Palestinian Christian households are involved. Israel is offering compensation for the land in the wall's path. Israeli army Col. Jamal Salman told local residents Tuesday that their homes and businesses would not be harmed, but that after the construction of the wall, they would have to pass through checkpoints to get into Bethlehem. Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Israel has no choice but to build the wall to ensure the safety of Jews praying at the tomb. "If Palestinians don't want a wall, they should stop the violence," he said. "Rachel's Tomb has to be protected so it won't be destroyed like other Jewish holy sites under the Palestinian Authority, such as Joseph's Tomb." Gissin said the wall was not necessarily permanent. "It will exist as long as this security situation exists. If there is a different security situation...then we can consider another solution,'' he said.
2003-02-19 00:00:00
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