The security barrier, built in the midst of the Second Intifada as a way to prevent the onslaught of Palestinian suicide terrorism inside of Israeli cities, has gaps totalling 39 kilometers, most prominently opposite Ma’ale Adumim and Gush Etzion. These gaps allow 50-75,000 Palestinians to enter Israel illegally every day and have become infiltration routes into Israel and smuggling routes for weapons back into the West Bank.
The planned route of the barrier in these places must be adjusted so as to avoid charges that the barrier is a land grab rather than a legitimate security measure, and the unbuilt sections must be constructed immediately in order to shore up Israel’s defenses against terrorism and crime. Only by taking security seriously, rather than eroding it due to pressure from settlement expansionists, will a two-state solution be viable.