During my last day in Jerusalem on the Taglit trip, we visited one section of the security wall that separates Israel from Palestinian lands on the West Bank. The wall does not completely encircle Palestinian territory and is used around checkpoints or in high risk areas. The majority of the territories are separated by a fence. Here you can see the end of one section of the wall and the beginning of the fence.



This barrier is often used as a symbol for Israel's oppression of Palestinians. The wall has fulfilled one purpose in greatly reducing the ability of Palestinian militants to enter Israel and kill Israelis. The wall also has also significantly damaged the Palestinian economy and society. Here's my guide Mordechai explaining the complicated levels of Palestinian control over their territories.



Israelis are generally not allowed to go into Palestinian lands, although there are levels of exceptions obviously for the IDF and others. Palestinians can cross over to work in Israel but need special passes and clearance. Young Palestinian are generally prohibited from crossing into Israel. The Israeli logic for this is clear, this is the demographic that has perpetrated the majority of attacks. However, in my analysis of Israeli policy, this seems like a clear barrier to long term peace as this denies any possibility for communication and exchange between future generations.

Another thing to consider...
When Israel pulled out of the Gaza strip, they had to remove some 8,000 Israeli settlers from the territory. Some went along peacefully and some protested and had to be forcefully removed. The West Bank is a completely different story as there are over 250,000 Israeli settlers, living among 2.5 million Palestinians, who have vowed to fight the Israeli government if they attempt to remove them, and yet this is a prerequisite to a Palestinian state.... Know Hope is tag seen on many walls here.