Jerusalem Violence stops, wall comes down
Gilo starts to lose its concrete shell
One of the most striking symbols of the daily violence faced by Jerusalem residents during the terror-filled years of the second intifada began coming down on Sunday morning, as the IDF started to disassemble the long link of concrete barriers surrounding the southern perimeter of the capital’s Gilo neighborhood.
The barrier was erected in 2002 to protect residents against what had been incessant shooting attacks from the adjacent Palestinian town of Beit Jala. The attacks subsided soon after, although security sources have long pointed to the IDF’s Operation Defensive Shield – which was launched in the West Bank at the end of March 2002 – and not the barrier, as the primary reason for the decrease in attacks, which after 2003 halted completely.
Nevertheless, the long period of calm that has marked the time since the barrier went up was cited by the IDF last week in its formal announcement regarding the decision to begin dismantling it.
Stressing that the decision to remove the protective structure was made “as a result of situational assessments in the Central Command, [and with] staff work and agreement among all of the relevant officials,” the IDF announced last Thursday that it would work in tandem with the Jerusalem Municipality and police to begin taking the barrier down.