Israel's circuitous wall puts chokehold on Palestinians [View All]

Here is a map that tells a story few Americans know.

Americans have seen photos of Israel's wall in the West Bank. It looks much like the old Berlin Wall, which was built to keep people in. Israel's wall is supposed to keep terrorists out. It is labeled a defensive wall.

Consider the map, a detail of the border along the West Bank. The border is the dotted line. Israel's wall is the black line.

Americans will recognize its shape: It is gerrymandering, the redrawing of boundaries for political gain. Israel drew this new line and, as you might expect, every square inch of the gain is Israel's. The wall does not loop into Israeli territory to favor Palestinian towns. Here it loops into Palestinian territory to favor two Israeli settlements, Zufin and Alfe Menashe. These land claims act as pincers, squeezing Qalqilya into a congested enclave.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002133322_rams29.html