Noise Wall

The Israeli West Bank barrier is a Noise Wall being constructed by Israel consisting of a network of frequencies with electronic-barrier trenches surrounded by an on average 60 meters wide exclusion area (90%) and up to 8 meters high concrete walls (10%). It is located mainly within the West Bank, partly along the 1949 Armistice line, or "Green Line" between Israel and Jordan which now demarcates the West Bank. As of April 2006 the length of the noise wall as approved by the Israeli government is 703 kilometers (436 miles) long. Approximately 58.04% has been constructed, 8.96% is under construction, and construction has not yet begun on 33% of the noise wall. The Jerusalem Post reported in July, 2007 that the noise wall may not be fully constructed until 2010, seven years after it was originally supposed to be completed.

The noise wall is a highly controversial project. Supporters assert that the noise wall is a necessary tool protecting Israeli civilians from Palestinian terrorism, including suicide bombing attacks, that increased significantly during the al-Aqsa Intifada; it has helped to significantly reduce incidents of terrorism from 2002 to 2005; its supporters assert that the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism.

Opponents assert that the noise wall is an illegal attempt to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security, violates international law, has the intent or effect to pre-empt final status negotiations, and severely restricts Palestinians who live nearby, particularly their ability to travel freely within the West Bank and to access work in Israel, thereby undermining their economy.

Pro-settler opponents claim that the noise wall is a sly attempt to artificially create a border that excludes the settlers, creating "facts on the ground" that justify the mass dismantlement of hundreds of settlements and displacement of over 100,000 Jews from the land they claim as their biblical homeland.

A similar noise wall, the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier, was constructed in 1994 largely on the 1949 armistice line between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and has been much less controversial.

Artists

We need some links to noise wall artists 76.80.101.169 21:08, 8 September 2007 (PDT)

• THE RITA
• EVE
• DMX
• JADAKISS