Israel's great wall

Washington has not been happy with this Israeli action because it goes against the "roadmap" of peace. However Prime Minister Sharon refused to budge from his stand during the recent meeting with President Bush and confirmed that the construction of wall would continue. Sharon knows well that President Bush will be re-seeking Presidential election in 2004 and he cannot afford to annoy the American voters who strongly support Israel. It is believed that Washington's foreign policy is disproportionately influenced by Jewish lobbies and Christian Rights in the US.

The wall is the most ambitious attempt by Israelis to reclaim Palestinian lands. The obvious excuse has been that Palestinians would not be allowed to easily enter Israel and the wall will separate physically Israel from Palestinian lands. However the idea of wall makes Palestinians unhappy because they will lose their lands permanently and Israel cannot do that under international law.

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The effects of wall could be far-reaching. First the wall will further weaken the already severely damaged Palestinian economy since entry into Israel will be more difficult. Second, the wall could deepen Palestinian rage and enmity, prompting violating the ceasefire and launching attacks inside Israel. Third, it may prompt further attacks on Israelis overseas, like the suicide bombing last year of a Mombassa hotel filled with Israeli tourists and the accompanying attempt to shoot down an Israeli chartered plane.

It is intriguing to find that many of the 200,000 Jewish settlers who live in the occupied Palestinian lands oppose the wall for a simple reason: Once the wall is finished the Israeli army will no longer be able to provide protection to the settlers who have been living on illegal settlements (not authorised by Israel) in the West Bank. The Jewish settlers want to create the Israeli state from the Nile to the Euphrates. Once the wall is erected Israel has defined its border with the Palestinian lands and could spell the death of the attempt to make Greater Israel. The wall will create a de facto international border between Israel and the West Bank.

It seems that Israel is creating a problem that will be an eye sore to Palestinians and unless the US, European Union, Russia and the UN put pressure on Israel not to grab illegally Palestinian lands through the construction of the wall, peace in the Middle East seems to hit another serious stumble and the "roadmap" to peace will be in jeopardy.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN.