The Politics and Policies of Cross Borders Region: Is the West Bank barrier an actual border?

Résumé du document

Israel has been building a separation wall between its territory and Palestine since 2002. A decision that goes against the current global movement for a borderless world. Whereas it has never been that easy to circulate from a country to another, some prefer to protect themselves against a foreign threat, following the example of the US-Mexican border or the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco.

Officially, the Israeli West Bank barrier aims at preventing terrorists to enter the country, including the suicide bombing attacks that increased significantly during the Second Intifada. This barrier doesn't have a specific form: a 723 kilometers-long concrete wall, 8 meters tall, or an electric fence that goes from the northern West Bank of Jordan to the South, following the 1948 official frontier the " Green Line ".

The barrier layout is complex and leads to singular situations for the East Bank: Palestinian villages are blocked in a no man's land, illegal colonies are integrated to the Israeli territory. More than a protective wall, the Israeli West Bank barrier appears as a symbol of a new civil and military redeployment of the Israeli policies.

"To think of this barrier as the main character of the Israeli-Palestinian separation is a dysfunctional analysis, because it would led to ignoring the Israeli presence on both sides of the wall. From a safety point of view, this barrier is a joke ! ", explains the French scholar Cedric Parizot. This is what we will try to discuss in this paper.

Extraits

[...] From a safety point of view, this barrier is a joke ! explains the French scholar Cédric Parizot. This is what we will try to discuss in this paper. I. A fence to protect or to expand ? The need for protection leading to a control of the Palestinian population The Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, passed the West Bank barrier bill in the spring of 2002. If such a political project was evoked among previous governments, it's Ariel Sharon's that implemented it[4]. [...]

[...] She must sign a discharge where she accepts that Tsahal won't save her in case she is in trouble. Journalist Jihane Bergaoui insists even if the Israelis could cross the barrier, they would not do so. People are afraid to be killed on the other side Therefore, without the barrier being finished, it is already well internalized : the separation is acknowledged by the Israelis but they don't see it. On a material level, the bypass roads avoid the fence. [...]

[...] The Palestinian Authority doesn't control anything : before the Second Intifada in 2000, Israel theoretically withdrew from zones A and B (so 40% of the West Bank), the Israeli government kept specific prerogatives such as the right to deliver identity cards and licenses to circulate. Therefore, Palestinian zones have very fragile autonomy, in particular if one considers the massive military operations. The 2002 Rempart operation, thrown by Ariel Sharon to fight against Palestinian terrorism weakened the Palestinian territories integrity. Regular incursions can lead to strict curfews that can last for months (Djénine, Bethléem . Even Yasser Arafat was condemned to jail in the Mouqata'a in 2001. These incursions within the Palestinian enclaves represent intelligence, arrestations or even murders operations. [...]

[...] These two territories seem to be one because of the colonization state and the Israeli presence on both parts of the barrier that is supposed to separate the two populations. The West Bank barrier is not as a tangible frontier as the check-points or other physical obstacles that become more palpable. Therefore, there is only one territory where there is no contact between two populations. There is not clean separation as permeations are done on a daily basis. Moreover the confusion is due to the fact that the frontier is not a Westphalian border which would be a sharing line between two countries that recognize each other. [...]

[...] The West Bank barrier as an hybrid territory If the West Bank barrier between Israel and the Palestinian territories is perceived as a physical obstacle providing safety or embarrassment, in fact, as far as spatial limits are concerned, it is complicated to apprehend it as an actual border. Indeed, the confusion induced by the Israeli colonization practice within the Palestinian territories provokes a constant evolution of political and social relationships. In addition, it exists an real asymmetry between Israel and the West Bank : if Israel is recognized by the UN, the Palestinian territories are not. [...]