The route of the Separation Barrier, most of which runs through the West Bank and not along the Green Line, has had a devastating impact on all aspects of the daily lives of the Palestinian residents of the West Bank. Palestinians have been cut off from their agricultural lands, places of employment, schools, essential services, and social support networks.
The territory between the Barrier and the Green Line (“the seam zone”) has been declared by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a “closed military area.” Palestinians cannot enter or continue to reside in this area without a permit issued by the army. The closure of the territory and the associated permit regime impose extreme restrictions on freedom of movement, and have turned the lives of Palestinians living near the Barrier, and those who make a living from farming in particular, into a bureaucratic nightmare.
In the area surrounding Jerusalem, the Barrier cuts off Palestinians who live in the eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem from the West Bank, and cuts off Palestinian residents of the villages surrounding Jerusalem and some Palestinian East Jerusalemites from the center of their lives and livelihoods in Jerusalem; those who seek to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank are forced to endure long delays at the entry points. Sometimes the Barrier passes inside urban areas, dividing communities and neighborhoods.
ACRI continues our fight against the injustices caused by the route of the Barrier. In the numerous petitions we brought before the High Court of Justice, we presented the myriad human rights violations caused by various sections of the Barrier; we also demonstrated in a number of petitions that the route was not determined by security considerations but by unlawful considerations including settlement expansion.
Resources on the Separation Barrier:
Following ACRI petitions, Court Orders Separation Barrier to be Rerouted, September 2009
Demanding Access to Land for Palestinian Villagers in the Seam Zone, June 2009
Intervention Warns of Deteriorating Situation at Qalandiya Checkpoint, June 2009
Separation Barrier Cuts Off East Jerusalem Families from Daily Lives, July 2008
Following ACRI Petition, State to Change Barrier Route near Jayyus, June 2008
ACRI Responds to High Court Ruling on the Barrier in A-Ram, February 2007
The Separation Barrier and International Law, June 2008
ACRI Responds to High Court Ruling on the Barrier in A-Ram, February 2007
Second Principled Court Ruling on Separation Barrier, September 2005
Expansion of Settlements and the Route of the Separation Barrier, February 2005
