Another Israeli checkpoint means more humiliation for the Palestinians. Annika Hampson visits Al-Izzariyya fence Reminiscent of the barbed wire and walls that separated East Jerusalem from West Jerusalem before the 1967 Six Day War, Al-Izzariyya checkpoint is a grey concrete wall, 150-metres- long and two-metres-high, in the middle of a road in an Arab neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. Once so enthusiastically dismantled, fences and walls are becoming more prevalent in and around Jerusalem as Israel increases its control over the movement of Palestinians. Al-Izzariyya is situated on the rocky slopes of the Mount of Olives, less than two kilometres from the Dome of the Rock. Located on the old road to Jericho, the checkpoint lies on the borders of municipal Jerusalem -- the administrative divide created on paper after the 1967 war, when the municipality of Jerusalem was unilaterally and greatly enlarged to include a large swathe of the West Bank bordering the city to the east. Al-Izzariyya checkpoint is just one of a network of checkpoints, roadblocks and fences encircling or "enveloping" municipal Jerusalem. The series of checkpoints, along with the bypass roads and settlements, make up the "Jerusalem Security Envelope", which is part of the larger national project aimed at physically separating Israel from the occupied territories, ostensibly to prevent Palestinian terrorists from penetrating Israel. However, quite aside from the huge economic cost, many claim the policy is fundamentally flawed. The insulating envelope around Jerusalem leaves within the "security area" over 300,000 Palestinians who can't be "separated" without undermining the principle of the "unity of Jerusalem". In other words, it doesn't really separate Israelis from Palestinians. Several Israeli settlements within the metropolitan area, such as Ma'aleh Adumim and Givat Ze'ev will remain "outside" Jerusalem, in the middle or Arab West Bank. Palestinians believe that the envelope is just another excuse for expropriating Palestinian land, creating a new de facto border and will ultimately lead to the implementation of the Israeli vision of the "Metropolitan Jerusalem Plan". (The Metropolitan Master Plan, which was presented to the Israeli government in 1995, outlines a long- term strategy of expanding Jerusalem's borders to encompass an additional land measuring 440 kilometres square. Most of this land would be confiscated from the Palestinian territories lying to the east of the city.) The checkpoint is only a few months old, established in August last year, and replaces a smaller checkpoint at Abu Dis which was dismantled. Since August, life in Al-Izzariyya has been taken over by the task of obtaining access to neighbouring areas. Al-Izzariyya and the bordering neighbourhood of Abu Dis were linked to other Arab neighbourhoods, such as Ras Al- Amud, further down the valley by numerous little unpaved roads. These have now been sealed, either with great piles of earth and rubble, or by a stone wall running the length of the main road leading to the checkpoint. The checkpoint itself separates the residents of this neighbourhood from the schools, hospitals, places of work and family, which are located on the other side. The checkpoint is crowded and chaotic, with garbage, dust and a confusion of vehicles. Crossing the checkpoint entails climbing over the wall under the direct gaze of the soldiers. Two Palestinian young men standing on top of the wall have taken the responsibility of helping people cross. The ground is muddy, but piles of broken stones act as makeshift steps. One of them, who introduced himself as Abed, explains, "We come here every day, stand on this wall, and help people jump. There is no work. There is nothing else to do, at least we can do something here; hundreds, if not thousands, cross from here every day." The Israeli Defence Forces claim that such checkpoints ensure its full control over Palestinian movement -- even between Palestinian neighbourhoods. However, Palestinians don't believe this is the sole purpose of the checkpoints. Muna is a student at Al-Quds University and crosses the checkpoint everyday -- into Jerusalem in the morning and back to Al-Izzariyya again in the afternoon. "They say the checkpoint is for security, to stop the 'terrorists' from crossing into Jerusalem. But really it is a tool they use to humiliate and subjugate us. The soldiers watch us cross, probably hundreds of us each day, and sometimes they even laugh." A man passing by overheard her comment and added, "My wife is pregnant and the hospital is on the Mount of Olives, on the other side. She can't climb over walls, it's humiliating and insulting. The alternative is to take a long detour through the Jordan Valley, but there is a checkpoint there, too, and those with West Bank IDs aren't allowed to cross it." Graffiti, which covers the walls at the Al- Izzariyya checkpoint, expresses a defiant mood in the face of the helplessness felt by the people whose lives are dominated by the presence of the checkpoint. It also testifies to growing political extremism, arguably bred by the intractability of the situation. Slogans pledging loyalty and support to radical groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad merge with the Star of David interlinked with the Nazi swastika, while defiant words scribbled on the concrete wall read, "No peace without complete Palestinian sovereignty over Jerusalem". Fear and humiliation is visible on the faces of the people as they face the soldiers. However the presence of the checkpoint, with the wider implications of its role for the future of Arab East Jerusalem and the long-term aspirations for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as it's capital, is stoking deep resentment and hatred and, arguably, incites more extremists to take revenge on the people who are making their lives a misery.
