Controversy surrounds West Bank tunnel

A separation barrier being built by Israel in the West Bank, the occupied Palestinian territory, will further isolate the village of al-Wallaja from the outside world, Palestinians say.

The Hajajleh family, whose backyard is already bound by an electronic fence, is among those who will be cut off from relatives in al-Wallaja.

So Israel is building him an $800,000 personal tunnel as the family's only connection to the village.

Palestinians say the move is not out of goodwill - but is part of a grander government plan to squeeze them out of another huge area of the West Bank.

Jad Isaac, a researcher, says al-Wallaja is standing in the way of Israel's long-term plan to complete a ring of Jewish settlements that would surround the neighbouring city of Bethlehem.

The tunnels would eventually become the village's only means of access to the outside world, he says.

Tom Ackerman reports from the West Bank.

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[catastrophyful]

americans and israeli, they are just rubbish.

[mantovannni]

the way the israeli govt. and the people of israel treat the palestinians is deplorable.

[naz2you]

"And thereafter We [Allah] said to the Children of Israel: 'Dwell securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come to pass, we will gather you together in a mingled crowd.'" [Qur'an 17:104]

[naz2you]

"And [remember] when Moses said to his people: 'O my people, call in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when he produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.'" [Qur'an 5:20-21]

[MUDSHARK111]

@Bobanamanamo i think it important to point out that although jews achieved much in the west i am well aware of how much they suffered at the Wests hands . i do not wish to appear insensitive to the fact .

[MUDSHARK111]

@Bobanamanamo " but ultimately they contributed a lot to the west in the first place." no body is denying the huge contribution jews have made to the west and mankind. but as you raised there society superiority to the arabs i think it was relevant to point they had been afford the platform by the west .jews who lived amongst Arabs did not achieved in the same way European Jews did .

[MUDSHARK111]

@Bobanamanamo "modern Israel's population is the indigenous group "how are palestinians less indigenous than a people who at the point of declaring Independence in 48 where mostly immigrants from Europe and had lived there for around 2000 years? the Jews are not the original owners of the land any more than Arabs where .but as i have hinted at i do not recognize Jewish right to land based on ancestry any more than i recognize a native Americans right to your land .

[Bobanamanamo]

@MUDSHARK111 I don't see any double standard here. You're not really asking questions you're just stating arguments, which are valid, and I'm responding to them. Again I will remind you, modern Israel's population is the indigenous group and I'm trying to steer away from that argument because there's no way to convince you otherwise. Plus, the Jews are more advanced because they came from the west, but ultimately they contributed a lot to the west in the first place. And still are in Israel.

[MUDSHARK111]

Israel more advanced society is not an excuse to take what it wants from a more primitive people .and i will point out that the only reason that Israel is more advanced is because they lived in the west for 2000 years .

[MUDSHARK111]

@Bobanamanamo i notice you didnt answer my questions but i didn't expect you to to be honest. i would no more want to wake some poor Jewish child in the night and tell her /him that they are about to loose the only home they have ever known any more than i want to see that exact thing happen to Palestinians in 48 and ongoing for the last 63 years .its you with the double standard.

[Bobanamanamo]

@MUDSHARK111 Plus, if you really consider original ownership out of the question then there's the fact that Israel is much, much more developed than Jordan, Lebanon or Syria. A Palestinian can make a much higher wage in Israel than outside the border. Original ownership can be debated but hands down Israel is practically the only REAL developed nation in the middle east I know of.

[Bobanamanamo]

@MUDSHARK111 Alas, Israel has been there since the 1940s, most of its generations were born and raised there to the point that the Jews are indigenous to that region again. The natives in North America at least get funded reserve areas, the Jews will get a nice kick in the pants if Palestine gets its way.