Prospect for Peace

Is the building of the security fence unavoidable?

In a HARDtalk interview broadcast on 5 November, Tim Sebastian talks to former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, about whether the Middle East peace process can get back on track.

Secret talks between Israelis and Palestinians carry on, but with little visible progress on the ground.

Israel continues to build its controversial security fence around the West Bank while Hamas' political leadership in the Gaza Strip categorically rules out a truce.

Tim Sebastian talks to Ehud Barak, the former Israeli Prime Minister and the last elected leader to sit at the negotiating table with Yasser Arafat.

Tim puts it to him that the security fence will achieve little more than making daily life for Palestinians even more miserable.

In response Barak refers to the number of civilians killed by suicide bombers, "There is no way for a responsible Israeli government to avoid building this fence.

"We have 900 reasons to build this fence - they are all buried in our graveyards and every responsible government would do the same. It is the primal contract of government with its citizens to protect them."

Moving on to the perception that the Israeli army is often excessively destructive of Palestinian fields and property Barak replies, "You should ask yourself honestly who is responsible for it - and I can tell you with the mistakes - and there are many mistakes made by the Israeli government by not focussing on the daily lives of Palestinians, by not minimising this collateral damage to property - but it is the result of the fact that Arafat and Sheik Ahmed Yassin have poisoned - poisoned - the souls of millions of Palestinians in a way that cuts underneath the opportunity to make peace."

HARDtalk can be seen on BBC World at 04:30 GMT, 11:30 GMT, 15:30 GMT, 19:30 GMT and 00:30 GMT

It can also be seen on BBC News 24 at 04:30 and 23:30