Israel's Cabinet on Sunday affirmed a plan to surround Jerusalem with a barrier, despite protests by Palestinians, who say the Israelis are unilaterally redrawing the disputed city's boundaries and shifting its demographic balance in favor of Jews.
The Israeli ministers acknowledged about 55,000 Palestinian residents in four neighborhoods will eventually be cut off from their city by the separation barrier...
It's eerie and creepy how much Israel doesn't get how the symbolism of the wall recalls the most enduring image of the Cold War. Or the primitive, medieval image of a walled city. Or (channeling Pink Floyd for a moment) how a wall isolates you from the rest of the world.
UPDATE: Washington Post quotes an Israeli Cabinet minister saying the wall is meant to ensure a Jewish majority in the city and not just serve as a buffer against bombers:
Besides keeping suicide bombers out, the route of the barrier "also makes Jerusalem more Jewish," said Haim Ramon, the minister in charge of Jerusalem. "The safer and more Jewish Jerusalem will be, it can serve as a true capital of the state of Israel."
Politics
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