The section of the above wall currently under construction is a five-meter high wall being built northeast of Um El Fahm. Arutz-7\'s Haggai Segal spoke about it today with Danny Atar, head of the Gilboa Regional Council (north of the Shomron and west of the Jordan River), and Chairman of the Seam (Green) Line communities. Segal opened by saying,
\"You know, when we look at the way in which the decision to build this wall was made, we see that it was not the result of a well thought-out government decision, but rather a response to the pressure of public opinion and, to a large extent, to the pressure that you yourself exerted. So, are you pleased with the fact that it has now started?\"
Danny Atar:
\"I think that your opening is, uh, pretty close to the truth, but in my opinion that\'s how everything works in this country. I definitely think that something had to be done in order to restore security to the citizens of the country… I very much do not like this debate on whether it\'s a political partition or a security fence. I\'m an active Labor Party member, and I\'m in very close contact with my colleagues in the Yesha and Gaza local councils, and some of them agree with me that the very debate over whether it\'s a political or security fence will in the end turn it into a political fence… We live in a certain situation, and we have to do so in the best way. This fence was planned with the consent of the army, which holds that a fence is one of the components of security for Israel… It has no political significance.\"
MK Sha\'ul Yahalom (NRP), responding to the above claim that the wall will have no ramifications on Israel\'s future borders, told Arutz-7 the following:
\"When we hear today that US President Bush may soon declare his consent to a Palestinian state, and when we see that on the same day that Sharon returns from the U.S., his contractor Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer begins to build a fence along the same route of the Green Line, can it really be said that this is not the delineation of the borders of a Palestinian state? … They are not telling the truth: they are building a fence, putting up a thick smokescreen, and telling us it\'s not a border...
\"But everyone knows that if it were really a security fence, then they would have put the fence around the terrorists! If they would put up a fence around Shechem and Jenin and Tul Karem, leaving open spaces around them, such as in Gilboa, it would not be perfect - but at least then, when a terrorist got over the fence, we would have time to catch him. But in the case of the current wall, on its one side and adjacent to it will be a terrorist Palestinian state, while right on the other side of it will be our cities such as Petach Tikvah and Hadera - we are thus witness to Ariel Sharon establishing a Palestinian state, headed by Arafat and his ilk, and we see the Government of Israel going blindly after Sharon and Fuad [Ben-Eliezer] and building this political wall.\"
Haggai Segal: \"MK Yahalom, it sounds like you may have forgotten that you are no longer in the opposition… Do you plan to build a partition between yourselves and Sharon/Ben-Eliezer in the coming days?\"
Yahalom: \"… We joined the government only a few weeks ago during a time of emergency. We will try to get the positive elements in the government, such as Gesher and parts of the Likud, to make a decision against the wall. But if not, then we will certainly not remain in the government as it takes giant steps towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.\"
\"You know, when we look at the way in which the decision to build this wall was made, we see that it was not the result of a well thought-out government decision, but rather a response to the pressure of public opinion and, to a large extent, to the pressure that you yourself exerted. So, are you pleased with the fact that it has now started?\"
Danny Atar:
\"I think that your opening is, uh, pretty close to the truth, but in my opinion that\'s how everything works in this country. I definitely think that something had to be done in order to restore security to the citizens of the country… I very much do not like this debate on whether it\'s a political partition or a security fence. I\'m an active Labor Party member, and I\'m in very close contact with my colleagues in the Yesha and Gaza local councils, and some of them agree with me that the very debate over whether it\'s a political or security fence will in the end turn it into a political fence… We live in a certain situation, and we have to do so in the best way. This fence was planned with the consent of the army, which holds that a fence is one of the components of security for Israel… It has no political significance.\"
MK Sha\'ul Yahalom (NRP), responding to the above claim that the wall will have no ramifications on Israel\'s future borders, told Arutz-7 the following:
\"When we hear today that US President Bush may soon declare his consent to a Palestinian state, and when we see that on the same day that Sharon returns from the U.S., his contractor Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer begins to build a fence along the same route of the Green Line, can it really be said that this is not the delineation of the borders of a Palestinian state? … They are not telling the truth: they are building a fence, putting up a thick smokescreen, and telling us it\'s not a border...
\"But everyone knows that if it were really a security fence, then they would have put the fence around the terrorists! If they would put up a fence around Shechem and Jenin and Tul Karem, leaving open spaces around them, such as in Gilboa, it would not be perfect - but at least then, when a terrorist got over the fence, we would have time to catch him. But in the case of the current wall, on its one side and adjacent to it will be a terrorist Palestinian state, while right on the other side of it will be our cities such as Petach Tikvah and Hadera - we are thus witness to Ariel Sharon establishing a Palestinian state, headed by Arafat and his ilk, and we see the Government of Israel going blindly after Sharon and Fuad [Ben-Eliezer] and building this political wall.\"
Haggai Segal: \"MK Yahalom, it sounds like you may have forgotten that you are no longer in the opposition… Do you plan to build a partition between yourselves and Sharon/Ben-Eliezer in the coming days?\"
Yahalom: \"… We joined the government only a few weeks ago during a time of emergency. We will try to get the positive elements in the government, such as Gesher and parts of the Likud, to make a decision against the wall. But if not, then we will certainly not remain in the government as it takes giant steps towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.\"