2003-06-15
... ? The Observer | Magazine | Geraldine Bedell on the West Bank WallThe government doesn't like its structure being referred to as a wall, pointing out that only in places along its length (360km) will it be made of 10m-high concrete. Officials translate the Hebrew name for it, kav ha tefer as 'the seam zone'. As this phrase is meaningless in English, it is more commonly referred to by Israelis as 'the separation fence'. In some places, including here at Jayyous, it will indeed be more like a fence, but with wide ditches and embankments, electrified barbed wire, detection devices and watchtowers manned by armed patrols. But whether of low-tech concrete or armed emplacements, the effect will be the same - try to get past it and you'll be shot.
