The Humanitarian Impact of the Barrier [EN/AR]
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KEY FACTS
- The Barrier consists of concrete walls, fences, ditches, razor wire, groomed sand paths, an electronic monitoring system, patrol roads, and a buffer zone.
- The Barrier’s total length (constructed and projected) is approximately 712 km, more than twice the length of the 1949 Armistice (“Green”) Line.
- Approximately 62% of the Barrier’s approved route is complete, a further 10% is under construction and 28% is planned but not yet constructed.
- Some 85% of the Barrier’s route runs inside the West Bank, rather than along the Green Line; if completed as planned, the Barrier will isolate 9.4% of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
- Nearly half of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank (71 out of 150) and over 85% of the settler population are located in the area between the Green Line and the Barrier’s route.
- Around 11,000 Palestinians living in 32 communities located between the Barrier and the Green Line (hereafter: behind the Barrier), depend on the granting of permits or special arrangements to live in their own homes.
- In 2013, a rerouting of a section the Barrier near Tulkarm was completed, allowing 350 people in the Khirbet Jubara community free access to the rest of the West Bank.
- Palestinians with West Bank ID cards who are granted special permits can enter East Jerusalem through four of the 14 Barrier checkpoints around the city.
- Approximately 150 Palestinian communities have land located behind the Barrier, forcing residents to seek special permits or ‘prior coordination’ to access it.
- Access to agricultural land through the Barrier is channelled through 74 gates, the majority of which (52) only open during the olive harvest (October-December).
- Despite the presence of the Barrier, between January and March 2013 at least 14,000 Palestinians without the required permits smuggled themselves every day into Israel to look for employment (PCBS).