Israeli Military Proposes Hebron Wall
AP
Date: 04-27-05
By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer
TEL AVIV, Israel - The Israeli military is proposing building a wall to divide Israeli and Palestinian-controlled sections of the volatile West Bank city of Hebron, according to security officials.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said the military presented its plan for the wall to the attorney general for a ruling.
Israel is already building a separation barrier along the line between Israel and the West Bank, dipping into Palestinian territory in some places. Palestinians call the barrier the "apartheid wall," though Israel insists its only purpose is to keep bombers and other attackers out of Israel.
The Hebron project would be designed to separate Jews and Arabs in the city, where about 500 Jewish settlers live in three downtown compounds amid 162,000 Palestinians.
The officials said building the wall would put an end to the constant friction between the two sides and allow Palestinian life to return to normal.
However, about 30,000 Palestinians live in the Israeli-controlled zone, and it was unclear how the military planned to accommodate them if the wall is built. The officials admitted that the attorney general might kill the plan, because the limitations it imposes on the Palestinians might violate international law.
Most of the settlers live in buildings that belonged to Jews until they were expelled in Arab riots in 1929 and 1936. Many of the settlers are extreme nationalists who clash frequently with Palestinians. Hebron's Palestinian mayor has demanded that the settlers be removed from the city.
The main focus of tension in the city is a holy site revered by both Christians and Muslims ? the traditional burial site of the biblical Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and three of their wives.
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