The West Bank Wall

The West Bank Barrier is expected to be completed in 2010. Declared illegal by the United Nations International Court of Justice, this network of concrete walls, trenches, and barbed-wire fences could permanently redraw one of the most disputed property lines in the Middle East--the Green Line that separates Israel and the West Bank. To Israel the "security fence" is intended to keep Palestinian terrorists from entering its territory. But to Palestinians the "apartheid wall" that sliced through orchards and houses, and cuts off family members from one another, is a land grab. In this comprehensive book, Backmann not only addresses the barrier's impact on ordinary citizens, but how it will shape the future of the Middle East. Though it promises security to an Israeli population weary of terrorism, it also is responsible for the widespread destruction of Palestinian homes and farmland; with its Byzantine checkpoint regulations, it has also severely crippled the Palestinian economy; and, most urgent, the barrier often deviates from the Green Line, appropriating thousands of acres of land, effectively redrawing the boundary between the West Bank and Israel. Backmann interviews Israeli policy makers, politicians, and military personnel, as well as Palestinians living throughout the West Bank, telling the stories not only of the barrier's architects, but also of those who must reckon with it on a day-to-day basis on the ground. With bold, brilliant, and often impassioned reportage, A Wall in Palestine renders the West Bank Barrier--its purpose, its efficacy, its consequences--as no book before.

Up-to-the-minute analysis of the impact of the Wall with an introduction by leading journalist Graham Usher.

In 2002, the Israeli Occupation started the construction of the Separation Wall in the West Bank. This Wall aggravated the suffering of the Palestinians living in the West Bank, denying them many of their basic rights in addition to the freedom of movement. This book sheds light on the various dimensions of this suffering: on social, economic, educational and health levels. It starts with demonstrating the development of “The Wall” idea in the Israeli Occupation mentality, contending the Israeli argument of “security” purposes behind the construction, and illustrating the various political and settlement-expansion motives. It also considers the International law position from the wall, including the 2004 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the illegality of the Wall. The book explores the stance of the Israeli Supreme Court towards the Wall and some of its rulings to modify its route. The book then moves to discussing the various humanitarian impacts of the wall on the lives of the Palestinian people. Among theses impacts: land expropriation,housedemolitions,restricting movement, denying accessibility to basic services like education, work and health; added to social issues of isolation and further fragmentation of the Palestinian Society. The book also studies the Wall in Jerusalem in a separate chapter. This Wall is a manifestation of Israel’s most important goals; Judaizing the city, confiscating its lands, surrounding it with settlements and walls, and pressuring the indigenous Jerusalemites into leaving the city. It dedicates another chapter to the case of Bil‘in village as a form of possible popular resistance against the Wall, explaining the innovative ideas to resist the Wall and how the Israelis were testing “non-lethal” weapons to disperse protesters there. One of Bil‘in’s most notable achievement is represented in the decision of the Israeli Supreme Court to amend the route of the Wall passing on its land. The book falls in 118 pages of medium size, and addresses the hearts and minds with the most accurate and documented information. This series is a rich interactive documentation of the Palestinian suffering under the Israeli occupation. It focuses on the Israeli violations of the Palestinians’ basic human rights.

The West Bank Barrier is expected to be completed in 2010. Declared illegal by the United Nations International Court of Justice, this network of concrete walls, trenches, and barbed-wire fences could permanently redraw one of the most disputed property lines in the Middle East--the Green Line that separates Israel and the West Bank. To Israel the "security fence" is intended to keep Palestinian terrorists from entering its territory. But to Palestinians the "apartheid wall" that sliced through orchards and houses, and cuts off family members from one another, is a land grab. In this comprehensive book, Backmann not only addresses the barrier's impact on ordinary citizens, but how it will shape the future of the Middle East. Though it promises security to an Israeli population weary of terrorism, it also is responsible for the widespread destruction of Palestinian homes and farmland; with its Byzantine checkpoint regulations, it has also severely crippled the Palestinian economy; and, most urgent, the barrier often deviates from the Green Line, appropriating thousands of acres of land, effectively redrawing the boundary between the West Bank and Israel. Backmann interviews Israeli policy makers, politicians, and military personnel, as well as Palestinians living throughout the West Bank, telling the stories not only of the barrier's architects, but also of those who must reckon with it on a day-to-day basis on the ground. With bold, brilliant, and often impassioned reportage, A Wall in Palestine renders the West Bank Barrier--its purpose, its efficacy, its consequences--as no book before.

A powerful, searing story of a divided city - where one boy strays on to the wrong side of the wall, and finds his life changed for ever . . .

This stunning book of photographs captures the graffiti and art that have transformed Israel's wall into a living canvas of resistance and solidarity. Featuring the work of artists Banksy, Ron English, Blu, and others, as well as Palestinian artists and activists, these photographs express outrage, compassion, and touching humor. They illustrate the wall's toll on lives and livelihoods, showing the hardship it has brought to tens of thousands of people, preventing their access to work, education, and vital medical care. Mixed with the images are portraits and vignettes, offering a heartfelt and inspiring account of a people determined to uphold their dignity in the face of profound injustice.

Facing theWall explores the ways in which the IsraeliWest Bank barrier has been used as a canvas on which artists, whether Palestinians and Israelis or foreigners, display their work. The different cultural arenas on either side of the wall dictate and give impulses to different modes of expression and uses of visual vocabulary; this tension is reflected in the layout of this book, which displays works from either side of the wall alongside each other.

Based on field research conducted by the author in 2008, the book consists of a careful examination of graffiti written on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides of the Israel-built OC separation wallOCO; and interviews with people about the graffiti. This shows how different sides of the conflict view the conflict itself and details the various ways that graffiti can represent political strife."