A Wall in PalestineThe West Bank Barrier is expected to be completed in 2010. Declared illegal by the United Nations International Court of Justice, this network of concrete walls, trenches, and barbed-wire fences could permanently redraw one of the most disputed property lines in the Middle East--the Green Line that separates Israel and the West Bank. To Israel the "security fence" is intended to keep Palestinian terrorists from entering its territory. But to Palestinians the "apartheid wall" that sliced through orchards and houses, and cuts off family members from one another, is a land grab. In this comprehensive book, Backmann not only addresses the barrier's impact on ordinary citizens, but how it will shape the future of the Middle East. Though it promises security to an Israeli population weary of terrorism, it also is responsible for the widespread destruction of Palestinian homes and farmland; with its Byzantine checkpoint regulations, it has also severely crippled the Palestinian economy; and, most urgent, the barrier often deviates from the Green Line, appropriating thousands of acres of land, effectively redrawing the boundary between the West Bank and Israel. Backmann interviews Israeli policy makers, politicians, and military personnel, as well as Palestinians living throughout the West Bank, telling the stories not only of the barrier's architects, but also of those who must reckon with it on a day-to-day basis on the ground. With bold, brilliant, and often impassioned reportage, A Wall in Palestine renders the West Bank Barrier--its purpose, its efficacy, its consequences--as no book before. |
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Review: A Wall in Palestine
User Review - Kristina Zalenski - GoodreadsI think I can agree with all of the reviews below. What I will add is this book makes you really appreciate living in the US. I couldn't image not seeing family, couldn't get to work, my kids not ... Read full review
Review: A Wall in Palestine
User Review - GoodreadsI think I can agree with all of the reviews below. What I will add is this book makes you really appreciate living in the US. I couldn't image not seeing family, couldn't get to work, my kids not ... Read full review
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Bibliographic information
| Title | A Wall in Palestine |
| Author | René Backmann |
| Translated by | A. Kaiser |
| Publisher | Picador, 2010 |
| ISBN | 1429953705, 9781429953702 |
| Length | 272 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / Middle East / Israel & Palestine History / Modern / 21st Century |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |