JPG

Just came back from the Palestinian Territories. To those of you who are not familiar with the theme, there is now a 25 feet wall, with trenches, barbed and razor wire and armed sniper towers , separating the Palestinian Territories from Israel. Without going into politics, it is a pretty impressive sight, maybe even more for those who were familiar with the 'Berlin Wall'.

This photo was taken today, lunchtime, when I was making my way back, headed to the Bethlehem check-point. When passing by a section of the wall covered with posters, I was impressed with the fact that there is no copy, or headings, on none of them. The images speak for themselves, and only acquire significance because of the wall where they are posted on.

This particular one really caught my eye. It was posted not far from an Israeli watch tower on top of the wall.

Facts for the curious

Length: 680km (this is more than LA to SFrancisco and 3 times the length of the Berlin Wall)

Height: 25 feet. The Berlin wall was 12 feet.

Cost: 3 million $US per kilometer ($2 Billion $US total estimated value)

Annexation: De facto , the wall takes another 10% off the Palestinian territory as it is built east of the green line by kilometers in most part of its extension

Demolished: 604 is the number of Palestinian homes demolished to build the Wall

Land: 280.000 Palestinians are separated and not allowed to access their lawfully owned land between the wall and the Green Line.

Note - These facts are taken from my Lonely Planet guidebook, published and printed in the US - they are not sourced from some left wing propaganda trash - and I do not intend to do a political statement.