Sharon admits separation fence harms Palestinians

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/384226.html

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"The government will examine already constructed portions of the separation fence for ways to reduce the burden they impose on nearby Palestinian villages, and will consider changing the route of portions that have not yet been built, according to the government's planned submission to the High Court of Justice in response to several petitions against the barrier.

At a meeting of the "kitchen cabinet" Sunday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said any discussion of changes in the fence's route "will happen, if it happens," because of second thoughts on the cabinet's part, not in response to demands by the Palestinians, the United Nations or the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

He added that the experience to date of the fence has been both "good and bad": It has been successful in preventing terror attacks, but "unsatisfactory in the harm it does to Palestinians' daily lives."


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"Defense establishment sources said their impression is that Sharon, in response to the growing legal and political pressure, is considering purely tactical changes in the route, but is not considering a "strategic change," such as eliminating all the places where the fence intrudes into the West Bank and building it exclusively along Israel's pre-1967 border. The Prime Minister's Office said Sharon has not yet decided whether to make any changes, but is willing to consider the subject."

when one begins to question whether the "wall" we've built around ourselves is to keep others out, or to keep ourselves in.

Is that we still have defenders of the fence around here, even after Israeli hawks like GOI Justice Minister Lapid conclude it is "totally indefensible"¹.

So we have a couple of DU folks, Mofaz (war criminal) and, um, Sharon (ditto) still supporting the current route on the one hand, and we have almost the entire world on the other.

Put another way, you can be to the right of a minister of Sharon, or on the side of peace, justice and international law.

Tough call.

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1. Paraphrased quote from "behind closed doors". Cited by Ben Caspit, Ma'ariv, 16 Jan 2004.

Dear Mr. Sharon:

Finish building the wall and huddle up inside. Let no one in, or out, and for Gods sake don't start fighting amongst yourselves.

In the meantime, we Americans will do our best to run interference for you and hopefully rid our country of would be neo-con world conquerors.

an admission.

Sharon declared that mixing red with blue makes purple.