(Baltimore Sun) - Robert Satloff The security fence now being built by Israel creates a long-overdue buffer between Israelis and Palestinians, and stands a good chance of fundamentally transforming the strategic landscape. With even moderate Palestinian leaders forswearing any serious effort to disarm terrorists or fulfill obligations to "dismantle terrorist infrastructure," constructing a fence may be the only effective protection against the next wave of suicide bombers. The fence is not, as some have characterized it, a Middle East version of the Berlin Wall. For most of its route, the barrier is a mix of chain-link and barbed-wire fence and an old-fashioned dirt path, swept clean each day to show the footprints of infiltrators, complemented by a multilayered system of high-tech sensors and video cameras. The Berlin Wall separated one people, Germans from Germans, denying freedom to half; Israel's security fence will separate two peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, offering the prospect of security to both. At the same time, Israel has declared that the fence does not define a political border, only a security perimeter, and that it remains committed to negotiating the final disposition of the territories in bilateral talks with the Palestinians. For the Palestinians, construction of a fence inside the West Bank sends a clear message that failure to fight terrorism comes at a steep price. The fear of losing control of territory for an indefinite period, even more than the prospect of gaining statehood, may finally provide the incentive for concerted Palestinian action against terrorists. Both the idea of the fence and its construction east of the Green Line, within the West Bank, are good for peace.
2003-07-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive