Letter From Israel
Killing and Taking Possession
by Ran HaCohen

"Precisely a year ago, President Moshe Katzav suggested building a separation fence to stop suicide bombers. The Prime Minister ignored him. In December 2001, the Head of the Shin Bet warned: 'a physical barrier is a security must.' The Prime Minister ignored him. Ever since, 205 Israeli citizens have been killed and 1.666 injured in terrorist attacks inside the Green Line. The Prime Minister ignored it." A subtitle reads: "The Prime Minister's Office admits: the fence is not built because of 'political aspects'." And the former Chief of Israeli Police, Asaf Chefetz, spells it out: "Separation will destroy the concept Sharon has been employing all his life. He cannot set a fence after he spread the settlements in a way that makes it impossible to separate them from the rest of the country."

Yedioth Achronot also quotes experts estimating the costs of a fence along the 263 km of the Green Line. The most expensive version, with a double fence, a wide patrol road, projectors, electronic detection equipment and cameras, should cost about one hundred million dollars. The direct military costs of "Operation Defence Shield" have already exceeded six times this amount. Not counting indirect economic damage, not counting human lives lost on both sides, not counting the millions of damage inflicted on the Palestinians, not counting future hatred.
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A mission too far
Haim Weiss, who was once glad to serve in the Israeli army, tells his defence secretary why he will not go to the West Bank

Dear Ben Eliezer

I must put in writing the reasons that have led me to one of the most difficult decisions of my life - to refuse the call for reserve duty in the areas of Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], and the Gaza Strip.
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The danger of seeing Netzarim as Tel Aviv

This is a most difficult period for the state of Israel and its supporters. While Israel is trying to do its best to preserve its international stature, an unprecedented and extraordinarily efficient campaign of delegitimization is being conducted against the state. Furthermore, it is being conducted by spokespeople for the Israeli right, from the prime minister down to the last settler.
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