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Our Positions |
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Outline of the Movement’s Principles
Our centers of population are currently completely exposed to a suicide bomber or terrorist who wishes to transport a car bomb or other means of destruction into them.
The “Fence for Life” movement was established in order to end the bloodshed in our population centers. “Fence for Life” is a non-partisan movement, acting towards the establishment of a security fence between the Palestinian population centers and the Israeli population, that will prevent the harsh terror attacks inflicted upon the inhabitants of the state and will stop the crawling realization of the “right of return” into the green line by the Arabs living in the occupied territories (to date, approximately 100,000 Arabs from the occupied territories have already “settled” within the green line).
Such a security fence could, according to security experts, dramatically reduce or even prevent the terror organizations’ ability to infiltrate terrorists into our centers of population.
The movement does not take any stand in the political debate concerning the future of the occupied territories and the details of the agreement with the Palestinians, if and when such an agreement shall be reached.
The perspective of the movement is that the instalment of the fence does not obligate any withdrawal from the regions of Judea and Samaria or evacuation of settlers from said regions. This key point significantly facilitates ratification of this plan.
Where Will the Security Fence Pass?
It is appropriate to leave the subject of the exact location of the security fence to the discretion of the Israeli government, but it is already obvious that this fence, the length of which is estimated at hundreds of kilometers, must create a complete separation between the Palestinian population and the Israeli population. This security fence could create, within a relatively short period of time, effective protection for the inhabitants of the state of Israel.
What Will Become of the Jewish Settlements?
It is impossible to include within the protected zone all of the isolated settlements in the areas of Judea and Samaria, as some of them are located deep within the occupied territories, far from the “Green Line”. Nevertheless, the movement is of the opinion that the protected zone should include large Israeli concentrations of population in Judea and Samaria and the strategic divide in the Jordan Valley, in which there is almost no Palestinian population.
The IDF must do everything within its reach in order to protect also the residents of the settlements that will not be included in the protected zone. According to security experts, the creation of a security fence will relieve many forces, which are currently engaged in attempts to prevent terrorist infiltrations through the obstacle-free divide known as the “Green Line”, to cope with the missions of protecting the residents of these isolated settlements.
Where Will the Fence Pass in the Area of Jerusalem?
The political debate concerning the outline of the agreement in the area of Jerusalem, in which the movement has no stand, should not prevent the efficient implementation of the proposed separation plan in this area as well. Nevertheless, the movement believes that in the current situation, in which there is no prospect in the foreseeable future for reaching a political agreement, the security fence must pass outside the municipal borders of the Jerusalem metropolitan area, while creating a divide between it and the rest of Judea and Samaria. The security fence in this area (as well as in other areas) should include crossing points between east Jerusalem and the territories of Judea and Samaria, at which meticulous security inspections will be conducted. In such way, it will be possible to reduce to a minimum the odds of inserting explosives and suicide bombers into the areas of east Jerusalem and from there also to the population centers in Israel.
Can Such a Security Fence be hermetically sealed?
The creation of such a security fence will dramatically reduce, or even prevent, the terror attacks such as those that have occurred recently in the Israeli population centers. The Green Line is currently completely porous, and each day, myriads of Palestinian workers enter illegally into the areas of the state of Israel. By comparison, infiltration attempts through the northern (Lebanese) border are very easily thwarted due to the existence of a security fence in that region. Moreover, even today terrorists are having difficulties passing from the Gaza Strip area into the state of Israel although the surrounding fence is not complete and is not properly guarded. In order to increase the effectiveness of the security fence, a special security force must be established to prevent infiltrations through the security fence.
Might the Proposed Separation Plan be interpreted as an Acknowledgement of Palestinian Sovereignty Over the Territories?
The proposed plan cannot and should not, in itself, be interpreted as any acknowledgement whatsoever of Palestinian sovereignty over the areas that will not be included within the protected zone. The erection of the security fence does not involve any retreat or relocation of Israeli population. The purpose of the security fence is, as mentioned, to prevent the infiltration of suicide bombers and terrorists. Moreover, there is no prevention, after the establishment of the security fence in the required path - the shortest possible one (in order to complete it as quickly as possible) that the Israeli government shall decide to expand the protected zone. The movement does not have any stand on this issue.
Might the Proposed Separation Plan be interpreted in the Eyes of the Arab World as Another “Withdrawal”, the Way that the Withdrawal from Lebanon was interpreted?
As mentioned, the plan of establishing a security fence does not involve any retreat of armed forces or relocation of population and it does not mean a retreat from the occupied territories. Therefore, it is not expected that this plan will be interpreted as an act of weakness on behalf of the Israeli government. On the contrary, the establishment of a security fence will bring several very important strategic benefits: (a) the neutralization of the Palestinian Authority’s and the terror organizations’ ability to injure the inhabitants of the state of Israel as they please and to affect their daily routine – which may bring them to the realization that the only way that is open for them is negotiation; (b) the prevention of the terror attacks will save Israel the need to retaliate forcefully against Palestinians and thereby will improve Israel’s situation in the international arena; (c) the relief of forces for defense missions and other missions within the areas of Judea and Samaria will render the activities of the armed forces in the occupied territories more efficient, and (d) the halting of the realization of the “right of return” into the green line by the Arabs living in the occupied territories.
How Will Israel Raise the Required Resources for the Establishment of the Security Fence?
According to economic experts, the establishment of a security fence is within the means of the Israeli economy and is actually an economic necessity. It must be remembered that due to the situation enforced by the Palestinian terror organizations, the Israeli economy is suffering a huge loss: (a) enormous security costs for increased security operations within the green line borders; (b) the costs of treating and rehabilitating the injured and their families, as well as the families of the deceased (c) a fatal damage to tourism – a substantial source of income for the state of Israel; (d) a severe damage to the economy as a result of lack of local and foreign investments, car lifting and theft of other equipment valued at hundreds of millions of Dollars per year, loss of working days, severe obstructions to traffic, lowering of national moral and an increase of the economic depression as a result of the above, and (e) the changing of the demographic balance between the Jewish and Arab populations within the green line borders, inflicting upon the economy and the society an enormous damage, which is difficult to estimate.
These damages, according to economic experts, amount to even higher sums than the one-time cost of erecting a security fence and the annual sums required to guard it – so the implementation of the proposed plan is not an economic burden, but rather, an economic necessity, in addition to it being a security must as well.
In Conclusion.
In the past, several plans have been suggested for the fencing of the territories and the creation of a divide between the Palestinian population and the Israeli population. These plans were stashed, and were not implemented to date. However, the recent suicide bombings have demonstrated in a harsh and abominable manner the unbearable ease in which human lives are taken in the state of Israel. Human lives have become cheap in the state of Israel!
Although the Israeli government has started building a security fence, there are no concrete plans yet for much of the fence’s route and less than half has actually been built. The non-implementation of this plan as a full and complete separation might result in many hundreds of dead and wounded and instill a constant atmosphere of fear and terror on the state’s population – until eventually, the state of Israel will perforce perform a complete, continuous and totally separating barrier. This plan is also important in order to stop the crawling realization of the “right of return” into the green line borders. In order to save human lives and minimize the great damages that the country is expected to incur, the barrier must immediately and without further delay be completed.
The “Fence for Life” movement shall bear the standard in the public struggle for achieving this goal as soon as possible.
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