Jane M. made a comment in a recent post, noting that there don’t seem to have been any terrorist attacks within Israel since the wall went up.
Come to think of it, I can’t remember any myself. Is she right?
* Update * Via Jimmie comes this link showing that Jane wasn’t quite correct, but damn near. The security fence is working extremely well. The incidence of terrorist bombings has decreased by over 80%, and has been reduced to zero in areas actually protected by the fence.
It also seems that raids on Palestinian territories have also been reduced significantly, and Arab towns within Israeli territory (i.e. on Israel’s side of the wall) have become more peaceful and economically productive. And yet, by interesting coincidence, fights between violent Palestinian factions on the other side of the fence have increased, and Arafat’s government is increasingly in trouble. Gee, you have to wonder why….
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I think there’ve been a couple… have to check LGF to be certain. But there’s been a substantial drop in incidents there since the wall, like, from almost daily to only a very few, and those in areas where the wall wasn’t complete yet.
I remember reading an article in a magazine (of which I can’t remember the name) about the composition of the Israeli wall. It’s a layered system of barbed-wire, patrol paths, towers and one long concrete wall (the concrete graciously provided by the Palestinians).
There are photos and videos showing Palestinians just hopping right over the wall. These are most likely taken in areas where the wall hasn’t been finished. Thomas Friedman tried making a point about how ineffective the wall was by scaling an uncompleted portion of it in his Discovery Times channel documentary about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
I don’t think its eliminated the problem, but its sure brought it under control; imagine how it must feel for the Israelis, to have some assurance that their children wont be blown to bits…
It shows, also, just why the Palestinians are so hot on getting it torn down – the recent self-immolation of Palestinians as they start to rip each other the shreds tells the whole story. Violent, evil men will do violence and evil…against themselves if they can’t target others.
It is not true that there have been no terror attacks. There have been very few, as terror has been decreasing continuously since the Passover massacre (before work on the wall began). I think that no terror attacks have originated from Jenin and Nablus, which are the only terror centers in areas where the wall has been built already. Still, a terrorist from these cities should be able to drive around the wall, so it’s not clear that the wall is responsible. Perhaps the wall is working already by seperating Israeli Arab towns from adjacent Arab towns in the West Bank. It used to be relatively easy for terrorists to infiltrate Israel in regions where everyone is Arab.
The wall obviously cannot physically prevent infiltration, which is why Friedman’s feat is meaningless. The idea is that terrorists would not be able to pass without being detected by monitors or soldiers.
The wall won’t deter all attacks, but it will make most attacks inconvenient by requiring increasingly expensive logistics to get the bomb and it’s human carrier to the target.
Despite what the UN says, I think this wall is a good thing.
Now, about those Iranian reactors.
Rich
Like the great Wall of China, it won’t keep them out, it is more to slow them down and provide a trip wire to alert the defenders.
I plucked this link all about the Security Fence. According to them (and I recall seeing these numbers out of the Israeli Government also), there were 135 killed and 632 wounded in 2003. In the first half of 2004 (post-wall) there’ve been 19 killed and 102 wounded, none in areas where the wall exists.
If I had been a soldier in the IDF, on duty along the section of the wall where New York Times reporter Thomas Friedman jumped over to prove a point, I would have “mistaken” him for an Arab terrorist.
Then I would have carefully aimed the telescopic sight of my rifle right at his belly button, in hope of exploding his belt of C4 or Semtex. So none of my boddies might get blown up dealing with the bastard.
The ensuing conversation with the officer in charge of the patrol:
“What? No explosive belt? A foreign reporter, you say? Well, sir, my job is to stop terrorists from crossing that wall. It was that American reporter’s mistake, not mine. And if we’re not here to stop everybody from crossing that wall, then what exactly are we here for, sir?”
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
You crack me up, Arnold.
I hope not, Dean. You’re not a kid anymore, and it takes longer for busted bones to knit when you approach 40.
Besides, who would run this great blogsite if you’re hospitalized for a vehicle accident?
(Just kidding.)
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Arnold Harris:
Excellent. I totally agree. I support the Wall and everything else the Jews do to defend themselves. I SUPPORT ISRAEL 100%.
Dean
I’m glad the research bore out my comment. Thanks for digging a little further. I read about the success of the wall in an opinion column in my daily newspaper a week or two ago. The column was written by Zev Chaifetz (sp?) who is an Israeli newsman. We get a column by him every couple of months or so. According to him, the Israelis consider the Infatada dead, failed, defeated. Israel is my pet concern so I try to watch what is happening there as a general rule. I love the Israelis the way some people love their extended families, I guess. I stick up for ‘em no matter what.
Jane M.:
Excellent! Thank you.
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