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The demolition reflex By Amos Harel Tags: terror, Jerusalem  Monday night's terror attack in Jerusalem, apparently by a driver gone amok, has brought in its wake - as a kind of conditioned reflex - the usual demand to raze the terrorist's house immediately. The fact that this is the immediate reaction, as formulated late at night by newspaper columnists, and also (due to different reasons, of course) vociferously demanded by the extreme right the following morning, need no longer surprise anyone. It is a bit more surprising that Defense Minister Ehud Barak has chosen to put himself at the helm of the camp making this demand. Hardly half an hour had passed between the first report of the attack and the directive issued by Barak's bureau "for a drastic abridgement of the legal procedures" which delay demolition of the homes of East Jerusalem terrorists. Barak had good grounds for releasing that statement. In a week during which he has been aggressively pounded by the media for his bizarre political conduct, it is good to be depicted once again as the tough fighter for security - especially because immediate responsibility for the safety and well-being of Jerusalem's inhabitants lies with the public security minister and the police commissioner. Moreover, it was Barak who approved the house demolitions (in his capacity as minister in charge of the Israel Defense Forces' Home Front Command) two long months ago. But the implementation of the orders is being delayed by legal problems. Advertisement A call to raze terrorists' homes satisfies many citizens' desire for revenge; it seems like a sharp and immediate response to a shocking series of attacks. And it also sends a message to the Israeli public that something is being done, in response to a new threat of violence that the security forces seem to be having difficulty preventing, due to a lack of intelligence. And yet, one might have expected that the former chief of staff, the person in the government with the most experience in security matters (something he himself does not forget to mention), would pause for a moment when considering the implications of such a decision. Barak is no doubt aware of the conclusions of the General Staff committee, headed by Maj.-Gen. Udi Shani, in February 2005, that there is no proof that house demolitions serve as a deterrent to terrorists, and, moreover, that it seems that they cause more harm than good. The committee's recommendation to stop razing houses was approved by two people situated to the right of Barak on the political spectrum: then-chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon and then-defense minister Shaul Mofaz. The assertion that house demolitions deter would-be terrorists from copycat attacks has never been proven. It is very difficult to predict the impact of collective punishment of this sort (aimed at members of the terrorist's family) on a large and broad public. Does it merely arouse anxiety, or does it spark hatred and a motivation for revenge as well? Palestinian terror in the West Bank has gradually declined because of a plethora of reasons linked to Israel's fight against it - including the IDF's Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, and the freedom of action the army has enjoyed in the West Bank in its wake, as well as the tremendous improvement in intelligence gathering (by the Shin Bet security service and Military Intelligence), and the partial completion of the separation fence. No one mentions the demolitions as a major reason for this decline. It is doubtful that attacks by drivers running amok will cease if Israel reverts to this punitive measure in East Jerusalem. A workable idea? No less disturbing than such questions of deterrence and intelligence is the issue of the separation fence. Several major gaps in the barrier apparently won't be closed in the next few years: between Ariel and Kedumim, in the area of Ma'aleh Adumim to the east of Jerusalem, in the western fence in Gush Etzion, and in the segment between Yatir in the southern Hebron hills to the south of the Dead Sea. In all of these areas, where Israel has been trying to swallow up more territory than it can digest, the project has practically stopped. The government's preferred route will not withstand the test of the High Court of Justice and will not overcome the American administration's opposition. In the absence of any agreement, the bulldozers are meanwhile standing idly by, and the blame is being passed on to the Finance Ministry, which isn't transferring the necessary funds. The most obvious problem is in Jerusalem, where the difficulty stems not only from the breach in the direction of Ma'aleh Adumim, but also, and mainly, from the incorporation of about 200,000 East Jerusalemite Palestinians into the Israeli side of the barrier. The mere fact that these people carry (blue) Israeli identity cards does not turn them into fervent Zionists. However, thanks to the cards and the fence's route, they are able to move about freely in the western part of the city - and, for that matter, all of Israel. While to date, only a few hundred of these Palestinians have been involved in terror, it appears that many more take advantage of their status to serve as go-betweens in smuggling goods or illegal sojourners across the Green Line into Israel. "At times it seems that there are 200,000 truck drivers from East Jerusalem roaming the country," jokes a senior Defense Ministry official. "Having a blue identity card is a desired status. It enables unrestricted and nearly unsupervised movement. It is clear that from our perspective this involves considerable security risk." The fence's route in East Jerusalem also inflicts serious damage on the inhabitants themselves. It seriously compromises their link to the West Bank, with which their "fabric of life" is far more connected, compared to the neighborhoods in the capital's western part. Every day, an average of 200,000 crossings are recorded between East Jerusalem and the West Bank, compared to only 10,000 between the two sections of Jerusalem. Brig.-Gen. (res.) Shaul Arieli, a man of the left and a member of the non-partisan Council for Peace and Security, has a constructive suggestion: to leave the separation fence in Jerusalem where it is, with a small but signification modification. At the spot where West Jerusalem links up with the northernmost point of Palestinian settlement (Shuafat, Kafr Aqab) and at its southernmost point, too (Jabal Mukkaber, Tzur Baher), smaller barriers will be erected, which will be under careful surveillance. At the same time, the crossing points in the fence between East Jerusalem and the West Bank will remain open, apart from during times of serious security alerts. The result of such an arrangement would allow East Jerusalemites to cross without difficulty into the West Bank, while only those who really need to will enter Jerusalem's western part (municipal employees, businesspeople, transportation and hotel employees), under strict supervision. Such a policy may well be effective as a response to threats like those underlying the three most recent attacks in the city (Mercaz Harav Yeshiva and the two bulldozer attacks), without necessitating involvement in sensitive matters like the status of the city and so on - at least not until a permanent status agreement is formulated. Arieli first proposed this idea three years ago. Although security officials responded favorably, politicians told him that such a move will not pass in the political arena. Perhaps now, after these terror attacks, there is reason to reexamine it. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Iranian support Khamenei: Iran will never abandon Hamas, its holy warrior Ismail Haniyeh. Weight connection Israeli, Palestinian women come together to lose weight and stay healthy.   1.   demolition reflex AND Professor Ze`ev Sternhell 13:13  |  al 27/09/08   2.   IT MAY BE QUESTIONABLE 17:18  |  Robert 27/09/08

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