Two sides to the W Bank barrier

The barrier provokes strong emotions on both sides

Debate rages as to whether a controversial barrier which Israel is building in the West Bank is an obstacle to peace or a vital measure for security.

The Israeli Government says that the planned 720 kilometre (480 miles) "anti-terror fence" is necessary to prevent suicide bombers entering Israel.

But the Palestinians say that it seriously restricts their freedom of movement and annexes large parts of their land.

Two BBC correspondents, Orla Guerin and James Reynolds, spent time on either side of the barrier to gauge public opinion.

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Orla Guerin went to the town of Bat Hefer, located on the Israeli side of the barrier.

Home to about 6,000 people, it is a modern community similar to many other Israeli towns.

Located prominently at the end of the town is Israel's West Bank barrier.

It is not just a wall, but a double fence and one part of it electrified.

ISRAEL'S WEST BANK BARRIER The wall gives us a basic right to protect our lives Israeli resident Anat Eshat Should the barrier be dismantled?

There is a red sign on it with a warning, written in Arabic, Hebrew and English, saying that this is a closed military zone.

Behind the barrier, Palestinian towns, cities and villages appear locked up like prisons.

Israel says that the barrier stops the bombers, but stresses that it could all be moved if peace comes.

But Palestinians say they are walled off not just from Israel but from jobs, schools and hospitals which lie on the other side.

Shootings

They worry that the barrier is here to stay and could become the permanent border between the two sides, robbing them of territory and denying them space for a future Palestinian state.

But local Israeli residents such as mother-of-five Anat Eshat say that they remain firmly in favour of the fence.

"To me it is the only way to protect my life and all the children's lives from Palestinians who want to kill us," she says.

"And if you remember there were a lot of shootings in Bat Hefer.

"It's not a game, it's true and we must protect ourselves," she said.

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On the Palestinian side of the barrier, our correspondent James Reynolds went near the town of Qalqilya and discovered that the barrier evokes very different reactions.

Not knowing who they were, the Israeli army fires warning shots at our correspondent's camera crew which goes too close to their positions.

It was an act for which the authorities later apologised.

Guide to the route and structure of the West Bank barrier

At-a-glance

It is a sign of just how dangerous things are on this side of the divide.

Qalqilya itself is effectively encircled and enclosed by an Israeli-built wall on one side and by a fence on the other.

The mayor of Qalqilya, Marouf Zahran, says that the barrier has affected all sectors of life.

"In Qalqilya you are speaking about a town with only one gate of eight metres [26 feet]", he said

"We used to have four highways to the nearby villages, now we have only this one gate which opens according to the mood of the soldiers on the check-point.

"So this affects the economy of the town; it affects the agricultural sector of the town; it affects the health services in the town; the education in the town and more than this, the spirit and psychology of people."

Mr Zahran says that if Israel wants to improve security, they should locate the wall on international borders, not in the heart of his town.