Credit: Hannah Kozak via Visura
Asset ID: VA100485
Caption: Not Available
Creator's Statement: Available
Copyright: © Hannah Kozak, 2024
Collection:
Location: Bethlehem
Topics:
Bethlehem
Documentary
Journalism
Middle East
Palestine
Photography
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city about 5 miles from Jerusalem. It took quite a bit to enter. First, the line where I showed my passport & went through X-rays not too different from an airport. They have built a wall that consists of fences over miles (including electrified fencing), buffer zones, deep six foot trenches, barbed wires, electric sensors, thermal imaging, video cameras, sniper towers, razor wire, unmanned aerial vehicles, a 26-32 foot high wall. From the center of Bethlehem, you can see the path that prevents certain people from entering. This wall, which serves to isolate and annex the religious areas, reminds me of the prejudice against the Jews during World War II. This wall isnt really a fence or wall, it's meant to be a separation barrier. The obvious historical parallel is the Berlin wall. The Berlin wall was 96 miles long.
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This wall will be 403 miles when complete and does nothing but violate human rights. I read that the Israeli authorities say it is meant to block the passage of terrorists including weapons and explosives.
-Initially I thought "this is barbaric." Upon researching I found that 900 people died from suicide attacks since September 2000. The wall was started in the spring of 2002 and there has been a sharp decline in violent attacks. The threat of violence is all too real. There are less senseless violence acts like blowing up buses since the wall has been erected. So there is no easy answer.