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Security Fences

(Atlantic Monthly) Abigail Cutler - Israel plans to continue building a controversial 400-mile anti-terrorist barrier between itself and the West Bank. Though the International Court of Justice has ruled that the fence violates international law, it remains highly popular among Israelis - attacks have declined by as much as 90% in certain areas since construction began two years ago. Today the West Bank barrier is just one of many partitions around the world aimed at repelling invaders. Other notable security barriers include: North Korea/South Korea - this 151-mile-long demilitarized zone has separated the two Koreas since 1953 and is the most heavily fortified border in the world; Cyprus - a 112-mile-long construction of concrete, barbed wire, watchtowers, minefields, and ditches has separated the island's Turks from its Greeks since 1974; Morocco-Western Sahara - ten-foot-high sand and stone barriers, some mined, built in the 1980s, run for at least 1,500 miles to keep West Saharan guerrillas out of Morocco; India/Pakistan - India has so far installed more than 700 miles of fencing, much of which is electrified, and it will eventually run the entire 1,800-mile border with Pakistan; Saudi Arabia/Yemen - in 2003 Saudi Arabia began building a ten-foot-high barrier along its border with Yemen to prevent terrorist infiltration.
2005-02-25 00:00:00
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