[lbo-talk] B'tselem human rights org has just published an updated map of the Separation Barrier

Bryan bryan at indymedia.org.il
Wed Mar 16 23:44:37 PST 2005


B'tselem human rights org recently published an updated map of the Separation Barrier

The map allows a comparison of the new route approved by the Israeli government with the previous route.

To download map in PDF, click below:

http://www.btselem.org/Download/Separation_Barrier_Map_Eng.pdf

What one notices looking at the map is that the most significant changes are in the sparsely populated areas south of Jerusalem, especially south of Hebron.

The changes in the Jerusalem corridor are slight and still deep over the green line.

Moreover, if you look to the east of Jerusalem, where there is the dotted red line around settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, though this line of the Wall is pending further approval, it is one of the most important parts of the Israeli "Greater Jerusalem" plan. So you can expect it to become actualized.

Realize that the municipal area demarcated as Ma'ale Adumim is larger than all of West Jerusalem!

All for a population, at the end of 2003, of 27,300.

So East Jerusalem is strangled to the north by the settlements of Pisgat Ze'ev, Ramat Eshkol, French Hill, etc.; to the south by Har Homa and Gilo; and to its East by the monster settlement of Ma'ale Adumim.

The other major settlement blocs encorporated by the updated Wall path, digging deep into the green line, are the Gush Etzion Bloc to the south and west of the Bethlehem region, where the Israeli gov is actively building a contiguous corridor between the Gilo Settlement (which has become southern Jerusalem and the Gush Etzion Bloc (of Kfar Etzion, Efrat, etc.). One of the Palestinian villages marked for destruction to create this corridor is Walajah, which we covered in our magazine about six months ago:

(http://www.newsfromwithin.org/free_articles/jaradat_aug_2004.pdf).

The other major settlement bloc is to the north of Jerusalem (not far north though because it is more or less parallel to Tel Aviv going north

parallel to Kfar Saba/Rannana) of Ariel, Barkan, Qarnei Shomron, etc. There has been barely any change in this route, except to solidify its enclosure.

Bryan



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