Arutz-7\'s Kobi Finkler reports that the \"separation\" plan against terrorism has begun to take shape. Two weeks after Prime Minister Sharon announced that physical separations and barriers would be placed at key spots along the Green Line - separating pre-1967 Israel from Judea and Samaria - work has already begun. IDF engineering forces are currently at work on placing obstacles and digging trenches around Tul Karem and Baka el-Sharkiye. The second stage will include the construction of an electric fence that will register any attempt to cross it. A fence of this type exists around Gaza, with satisfactory results.
Ehud Yatom, a former high-ranking GSS official who served as a top aide to Prime Minister Sharon and who hopes to become a Likud MK, told Arutz-7 today that he is basically in favor of the plan:
\"I don\'t call it \'buffer zones\' but rather \'expanses of security\' that will provide us both security and with total control over the area.\" He said that the Jewish communities in Yesha will be separated from the Arab villages, and specific areas will be termed closed military zones, where anyone who enters will be taking his life into his own hands... This must be a joint effort of people and technology, as fences alone are not the solution; there must be no passage for cars, there must be observation points, ambushes, mobility of forces, etc.\"
Asked about the future of Jewish settlements and possible evacuation of some, Yatom said, \"At present, there is nothing to talk about regarding this matter. Every community is a security asset for the area next to it... there is currently no one with whom to talk about these matters. When a future arrangement becomes possible, and there is someone with whom we can talk on the other side, the we will sit down and talk.\"
Dr. Aryeh Stav, Director of the Ariel Center for Policy Research, strongly disagreed with Yatom regarding the separation plan:
\"Jews have bitter experience with fences, such as those that were placed around concentration camps, ghettos, and the like... There is nothing more foolish than to build walls of this nature, as history has shown us time and again. The Maginot Line, the Great Wall of China, and others were truly impenetrable by the standards of the times in which they were built - yet collapsed totally at the moment that they were really needed. To assume that fences of this nature will stop terrorism is total self-delusion. Fences can be easily shot over and crawled under, as we see on our northern border, and they can be cut, and infiltrators can wait for patrols to pass by, etc.
\"Even worse, a fence gives you a false sense of security, causing you to feel exempt from what you should be doing, namely, truly controlling the area... Technology, of course, can be used to help our fight against terrorists, but it must only be an aid, not the main thing...\"
Asked whether government policy makers ever consult with Ariel Center researchers, Stav said,
\"Aaah, the policy makers consult sometimes with their neighbors, and sometimes their sons, but mainly with their public relations people. There is no connection between those who make decisions in Israel - particularly in what is known as the right-wing, the Likud - and any sort of rational thinking that a research center could help them with. I\'m sorry that I\'m speaking so bluntly and sarcastically, but this is unfortunately the situation.\"
Ehud Yatom, a former high-ranking GSS official who served as a top aide to Prime Minister Sharon and who hopes to become a Likud MK, told Arutz-7 today that he is basically in favor of the plan:
\"I don\'t call it \'buffer zones\' but rather \'expanses of security\' that will provide us both security and with total control over the area.\" He said that the Jewish communities in Yesha will be separated from the Arab villages, and specific areas will be termed closed military zones, where anyone who enters will be taking his life into his own hands... This must be a joint effort of people and technology, as fences alone are not the solution; there must be no passage for cars, there must be observation points, ambushes, mobility of forces, etc.\"
Asked about the future of Jewish settlements and possible evacuation of some, Yatom said, \"At present, there is nothing to talk about regarding this matter. Every community is a security asset for the area next to it... there is currently no one with whom to talk about these matters. When a future arrangement becomes possible, and there is someone with whom we can talk on the other side, the we will sit down and talk.\"
Dr. Aryeh Stav, Director of the Ariel Center for Policy Research, strongly disagreed with Yatom regarding the separation plan:
\"Jews have bitter experience with fences, such as those that were placed around concentration camps, ghettos, and the like... There is nothing more foolish than to build walls of this nature, as history has shown us time and again. The Maginot Line, the Great Wall of China, and others were truly impenetrable by the standards of the times in which they were built - yet collapsed totally at the moment that they were really needed. To assume that fences of this nature will stop terrorism is total self-delusion. Fences can be easily shot over and crawled under, as we see on our northern border, and they can be cut, and infiltrators can wait for patrols to pass by, etc.
\"Even worse, a fence gives you a false sense of security, causing you to feel exempt from what you should be doing, namely, truly controlling the area... Technology, of course, can be used to help our fight against terrorists, but it must only be an aid, not the main thing...\"
Asked whether government policy makers ever consult with Ariel Center researchers, Stav said,
\"Aaah, the policy makers consult sometimes with their neighbors, and sometimes their sons, but mainly with their public relations people. There is no connection between those who make decisions in Israel - particularly in what is known as the right-wing, the Likud - and any sort of rational thinking that a research center could help them with. I\'m sorry that I\'m speaking so bluntly and sarcastically, but this is unfortunately the situation.\"