Arutz Sheva [2], arch-reactionary organ of the Israeli settler movement, is clearly overjoyed by this Nov. 13 tidbit:
(IsraelNN.com) New York Senator and former US First Lady Hillary Clinton voiced her support for the Partition Wall Sunday.
"The fence was built in order to fight terrorism and not against the Palestinian nation," Clinton said while visiting the wall outside the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.
"The Palestinian nation must change its approach to terrorism and prevent it," Clinton added in a speech at the dedication of the new Rabin Center in Ramat Aviv Sunday afternoon.
Further details from the AP [3] account:
Israel has built about three-fourths of the barrier, which is expected to stretch about 425 miles when complete. It says the structure is needed to keep suicide bombers, who have killed hundreds of Israelis during five years of fighting, from entering the country.
But the Palestinians harshly criticize the barrier because it cuts into the West Bank at several points. They say it is intended to steal disputed land they claim as part of a future independent state. The barrier also has prevented thousands of Palestinians from reaching their jobs, schools and farmland.
Clinton's comments echoed Israel's position that the Palestinians must crack down on militants or Israel will find ways to prevent attacks on its citizens.
Israeli army commanders explained the security considerations of the barrier to Clinton at an observation point in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, which Israel built on territory captured in 1967 and the Palestinians want for a future state.
From the lookout, Clinton could see the barrier change from a concrete wall around parts of Jerusalem to an electrified fence on the approach to the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
Clinton, who is on a three-day visit to Israel, also met Sunday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.
On Monday, Clinton—along with several international dignitaries, including her husband, former President Bill Clinton—is to attend ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination.
Clinton touted Sharon's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September as "courageous" and said the Israeli leader needs a "reliable partner" on the Palestinian side to further the positive momentum created by the pullout.
What, we wonder, would Yitzhak Rabin [4] make of the Wall [5]?
See our last posts on Israel [6] and West Bank aparthied [7].
