Israel finishes Separation Wall in southern Qalqiliya

The Israeli occupation authorities have completed building the part of the Separation Wall which snakes around the neighbourhood of Azzoun in the south of the occupied West Bank city of Qalqiliya, Al-Resalah reported on Tuesday.

The Secretary of Azzoun Village Council, Abdel Karim Ayyoub, said that Israel’s objective in building this wall is rejected by the indigenous population. “It is simply working to impose its occupation policy,” he said. “Israel wants to tighten its grip over Palestinian farmers in the area.” Several complaints have been lodged against the Israeli measures in the area in the hope that the wall will be dismantled.

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Israel started building the Separation Wall around this neighbourhood in 2002. It is referred to by international activists as the Apartheid Wall and encircles the neighbourhood, isolating it completely from the outside world. The occupation authorities open the gates for just 20 minutes three times a day.

The wall at this particular point is 7 kilometres long and between 50 to 70 metres wide (including the clearance zone on either side). It occupies 2,000 dunams (500 acres) of land belonging to the village.