Michael Teplow

It was during this past High Holiday season that the residents of Karnei Shomron were rudely awakened. The normally pastoral quiet in these hills of Samaria was broken by the pounding sound of earth moving equipment. Despite declarations in the late summer by Israeli government leaders that the Olmert Convergence Plan is no longer relevant, the tractors in front of our houses said otherwise.

It is widely known that for the past two years Israel has been constructing a separation fence along the former Green Line, separating the areas of Judea and Samaria from pre-67 Israel. Much of the fence has already been completed along the Green Line. What is less well known is that secondary fences have been planned for certain settlement blocs, such as the Gush Etzion bloc, the Karnei Shomron-Kedumim bloc, and the Elkana-Ariel bloc. Recently, the construction work on these fences has begun in the Karnei Shomron, Emanuel and Efrat areas.

I was still in mourning over the tragic destruction of Gush Katif and the communities of the northern Shomron, when I received a wake up call from a neighbor. "Michael, the tractors are working in front of our houses building the Fence. We have to do something." I was in no mood to once again take on the Israeli government and army. The mind-boggling tragedy of the evacuations over a year ago had left a cavernous hole in my heart. Yet, I knew that we no longer had the luxury of time.

The dangers that the Fence posed were obvious to me. The army claims that the Fence will prevent terrorist attacks, and yet the Kassam missiles crashing into Sderot, and the Katyusha rockets of this past summer flying over the Lebanese border proved that fences alone cannot provide adequate protection for the Israeli population. Experts are emphatic that the only effective way to fight terror is through military penetration of the territory occupied by the terrorists. The Fence is a placebo to our people, who are desperate to live in peace. It was approved by the government because our leaders are too frightened to adopt effective plans that require invading territory presently controlled by the Palestinian Authority. And so, out of fear of placing Israeli soldiers in the kasba of Shechem and Jenin, and out of desperation to show that they are "doing something," it was decided to build a fence between "us" and "them."

What is planned for the Karnei Shomron area is a 2-3 meter tall barbed wire fence on a low concrete base with electronic motion detectors. The Fence is being built a mere 300 meters from our back yards, so that a potential terrorist need not cross the fence in order to shoot directly into our back yards and on our houses. The Fence will separate the houses of Karnei Shomron from thousands of acres of our land owned either by the state of Israel or purchased by private Jewish owners, thereby preventing our community from expanding onto these land reserves that were intended for its expansion. Moreover, the Fence will separate the residents of Karnei Shomron from the main road, requiring the army to build a new road in the middle of the Kane River nature reserve. Not only will the new road destroy the wildlife in this nature reserve, but it will force the Jewish residents of the area to travel on a valley road that will pass between two Arab villages overlooking the road – thereby allowing the villagers to shoot upon us without even leaving their houses. Presently, the road we use is a mountain road that uses the high ground, making shooting attacks from within the Arab villages extremely difficult.

Despite these dangers, the former Israeli government thought it could convince the Jewish population of Yesha (the organization representing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria) to support the Fence by offering to encircle large settlement blocs, "attach them" to the pre-67 parts of Israel, and thereby create a de-facto annexed area. Perhaps as a result of the up-hill battle against the Disengagement Plan, or the tedious struggle over the past 12 years as a result of the Oslo accords, many leaders of Yesha agreed to the proposal, arguing it was impossible to fight against the Fence, and we must make the best of a tough situation. But then, primarily due to the intervention of the Israeli Supreme Court, the intended settlement blocs were chopped into thin slivers, making their defense practically impossible. A group of residents in Karnei Shomron quickly formed, and we decided to prepare ourselves for a struggle against the Fence, understanding that it was much better for us to be placed outside it, and try to stop its construction wherever possible.

Local parlor meetings were held, a "Power Point" presentation was created, and an internet site was set up in order to begin educating residents of the danger of the Fence (this can be seen at: www.stopthefence.up2.co.il ). A protest was held over Sukkot where 150 people participated – not bad for a community of 1200 families! A petition was circulated, and soon the majority of the residents will have signed their name. After our months-long efforts, it is now common knowledge that the majority of Karnei Shomron is against the Fence. In addition, local army experts were contacted, and a paper was drafted explaining the military dangers the Fence will cause.

Soon, residents of Kedumim and Efrat joined us. The word is spreading like wild-fire – the Fence is "bad for the Jews", and yes with some efforts, we can stop its construction. We have been contacting the Israeli media, and stories have appeared in both print and television. On seeing the large-scale grass-roots response to our efforts, the Yesha Council stated that it too is against the Fence, and will work to prevent its construction. We have begun efforts to lobby individual Knesset Members. We believe that the following argument will convince most Knesset Members, irrespective of their political affiliation: (a) The Fence is strongly opposed by both the Jewish residents and the Arab residents of Judea and Samaria. (b) The Fence is being constructed at a cost of approximately 10 million shekel for every kilometer! (c) If you are looking for a place to cut the government budget, here is the perfect project to cut.

Yes, the battle is difficult, and those waging it are few. Nonetheless, we are confident that construction of the Fence can be stopped. We have faith that Jewish settlement in all of Eretz Yisrael will flourish, and the army will perform the necessary actions in order to bring peace back to our Land.

The writer is a resident of Karnei Shomron since 1990 and practices law in Tel Aviv.