THE WALL OF SHAME

"The measures to protect the security of a threatening danger to security and rights of all people living in Palestine. And that's also everybody's business "

Rafael Escudero Alday,
Professor of Philosophy of Law at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

In June 2002 Israel started building a wall that covers 700 kilometers from the north to the south of the West Bank and around parts of East Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

In some areas, it is a concrete wall up to 8 meters high and in others of a concrete fence with an electrified fence 4 meters high. In total, it covers between 50 and 100 meters wide, and includes trenches, barbed wire, and prohibited areas.

At present, it has built more than half of the Wall. Although, in July 2004, the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel had to stop construction, dismantle it and compensate the affected Palestinian population, but the construction continued.

Indeed 80% of the Wall is inside Palestinian territory, separating Palestinian villages and families inwardly. It affects the general population, constitutes as a collective punishment, which undermines the free movement, right to property, employment, education, health, water and food, and religious freedom.

Under the Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, "the control or security measures must be those which are necessary because of the war." However, these restrictions should not affect the fundamental rights of individuals.

The destruction of property to build the Wall violates Article 53 of the same Convention and is not justified on grounds of need for military operations or national security. The Article 147 considers that as grave breaches "extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out large-scale unlawfully and wantonly."

According to Amnesty International, the consequences of the Wall are:

- 60 500 Palestinian people, living in 42 towns of the West Bank, living between the fence / wall and the Green Line or in closed areas.
- 12 of these places and about 31,400 Palestinians and Palestinians will be completely surrounded by the fence / wall.