Today's Berlin Walls

The fall of the Berlin Wall united Germany and eliminated the Cold War's most potent symbol. Here are five barriers that continue to divide nations and disrupt lives today. Part of an FP series, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

BY JOSHUA KEATING | NOVEMBER 5, 2009

The Israel/Palestine “Separation Barrier”

MUSA AL-SHAER/AFP/Getty Images

What: The Israeli government first proposed a physical barrier between Israel and the West Bank in 2002, saying it was necessary to prevent terrorists from entering Israeli territory. It is now more than half complete. Although often referred to as "the wall," in most places the barrier consists of an electronic fence surrounded by trenches and barbed-wire fences and is roughly 60 meters wide.  The barrier has 66 gates, though many are often closed.

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How it divides: The most controversial aspect of the barrier is that most of it runs not along the "green line" separating Israel and the West Bank, but through ostensibly Palestinian territory. Palestinians living between the barrier and the green line require permits to remain in their homes. The wall has also been extended in several locations to encompass Israeli settlements on the West Bank, effectively annexing sections of Palestinian territory. The relatively few crossing points, even fewer of which are open at any given time, disrupt cross-border Palestinian trade. The International Court of Justice at the Hague has declared the wall to be in violation of the Geneva Conventions and ordered construction to stop. Like the Berlin Wall, the solid sections of the barrier have become a target for Palestinian graffiti artists. 

Future: Israel has been forced to make several adjustments to the route of the wall due to challenges filed in Israel's Supreme Court. It now expects the wall to be completed next year, though that is already seven years behind schedule.  Thanks to delays and cost overruns on the $2.5 billion project, some analysts now predict it will never be completed.

 SUBJECTS:
 

Joshua Keating is deputy Web editor at Foreign Policy.

JACOB BLUES

10:49 PM ET

November 5, 2009

What, you couldn't mention the berm?

Apparently some walls are more memorable than others.

 

SCOTTGOOSE

2:31 PM ET

November 6, 2009

"If it ain't broke, than don't fix it"

No rant necessary, but the writer could have objectively noted the rationale and subsequent efficacy. An upsurge of seemingly unstoppable suicide bombings by Hamas and their minions was brought to an unprecedented halt. No need for numbers (I am in the middle of a seminar, whoops) because when was the last time you heard of a suicide bomb going off in Jersualem? A very long time. Granted, Hamas publicly denounced suicide bombing in 2005 (I believe), but that hasn't stopped them from using human shields and hiding in civilian areas, but I digress. Point is: the separation fence was built to combat terror in general and suicide attacks specifically and MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. In order for them to be viable, it must be secure. An hour or two wait to cross a border is a small price to pay for saving the lives of potentially thousands of lives. We all remember the suicide bombing in Sbarro, or the multiple bus bombings. Or do people have short memory span? Is it selective hearing? But I digress again. Regardless, many nations build separation fences for their own unique reasons (some more legit than others), and if one has proved efficient, than as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

 

MIKULASRING

8:32 AM ET

November 28, 2009

I think that some walls are

I think that some walls are definitely more memorable than the others.
Mike Rrod

 

SCOTTGOOSE

2:31 PM ET

November 6, 2009

"If it ain't broke, than don't fix it"

No rant necessary, but the writer could have objectively noted the rationale and subsequent efficacy. An upsurge of seemingly unstoppable suicide bombings by Hamas and their minions was brought to an unprecedented halt. No need for numbers (I am in the middle of a seminar, whoops) because when was the last time you heard of a suicide bomb going off in Jersualem? A very long time. Granted, Hamas publicly denounced suicide bombing in 2005 (I believe), but that hasn't stopped them from using human shields and hiding in civilian areas, but I digress. Point is: the separation fence was built to combat terror in general and suicide attacks specifically and MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. In order for them to be viable, it must be secure. An hour or two wait to cross a border is a small price to pay for saving the lives of potentially thousands of lives. We all remember the suicide bombing in Sbarro, or the multiple bus bombings. Or do people have short memory span? Is it selective hearing? But I digress again. Regardless, many nations build separation fences for their own unique reasons (some more legit than others), and if one has proved efficient, than as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

 

OLIOMEDIA

5:31 PM ET

November 9, 2009

Don't forget Cyprus

An interesting article, but a pity it didn't find space to mention the "Berlin" wall that divides the two halves of Cyprus, running from West to East right across the island. The Green Line, patrolled by the UN, divides "the Greeks" from the "the Turks" and is made mainly of wire rather than concrete. But where it runs though Nicosia, with a wasteland between the two lines of wire, it's very reminiscent of divided Berlin.

At the moment the Green Line looks all set to be as permanent as the Berlin wall seemed in the mid-80s...