Israel begins building wall in northern West Bank

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 22:03, June 22, 2022

JERUSALEM, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel has begun building a 9-meter-tall wall to replace the old fence barrier in the northern occupied West Bank, said Israeli Defense Ministry on Wednesday, citing security reasons.

The 45-kilometer-long wall will stretch from near the Palestinian village of Salem, east of Nablus city in the northern West Bank, to the north of Tulkarm city, the ministry said in a statement.

"The security barrier will include a massive concrete wall, protection measures and other technological means," the ministry said,

The project was approved by Israeli government in April amid a wave of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israeli cities, and a total of 360 million shekels (about 104 million U.S. dollars) were allocated for the construction.

The controversial fence barrier built about 20 years ago has been a key symbol of Israel's control over the West Bank, with Israel arguing it is necessary to prevent Palestinian attacks and the Palestinians charging it as a feature of racial segregation and the Israeli apartheid regime.