The Separation Wall

Last Sunday, the 28th, we took a tour of the Separation Wall. Our guide was Danny Seidman who works independent of the Israeli government but is an Israeli citizen who does a lot of advising and such for both the Israeli government and the U.S. ambassadors to Israel on the issues regarding the Palestinian Israeli conflict. The Israeli army is building this wall around Palestinian territories in order to decrease the acts of terrorism on the Israelis. It has stopped the bombings of the Second Intifada but has come at the big cost to the Palestinians. The wall disrupts daily life and has caused the death of individuals in emergency situations trying to get to hospitals outside the West Bank that have been delayed by the checkpoints. We went to Bethlehem University today in the West Bank and got to talk to some of the students there. One girl is from a town south of Hebron and a drive that should take 15 minutes now takes her about 2 hours. I think, if I remember right, the Israeli government does not support the army's construction of the wall and the UN has made a public statement against it. Here's some pictures of the wall.