The security barrier or "wall' that the government of Israel is currently constructing has the potential to deter terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. This has been clearly stated by members of the Israeli government, expressed in the opinion polls of the Israeli population, and has been stated by people (mostly Jewish leaders and thinkers) around the world, who see it as a necessary defense against the threat of suicide/homicide bombers.
But given the current political situation and the discussion of a potential Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip within the near future, it would not be too hard to see - and indeed, many people on both sides have addressed this aspect of the wall - that the barrier going up could ultimately serve to delineate boundaries to the Israeli and hypothetical Palestinian states. While the construction of the wall has been denounced by many opponents as a "land grab of Palestinian territory" by the Israeli "expansionist, colonizing" government, it has the potential to end the "occupation" of the West Bank and - along with the withdrawal from Gaza - thus establish the ability for Palestinians to demand accountability of their leaders in a state of their own, rather than murdering Jews. In delineating these boundaries though, it would be unrealistic to think that Israel should abandon all of its settlements in the West Bank.
On the contrary, it makes complete sense financially and demographically speaking to include some of the major Jewish settlements that lie more or less along the current border with Israel proper on the Israel side of the barrier. As for the other settlers throughout the West Bank, they would be forced to pick up and move to the other side of the wall, or else to relinquish their Israeli citizenship. It should be said, though, that Israel has no moral obligation to hand over this land to the Palestinians, given that it was acquisitioned by Israel in a war of self-defense. Therefore I am not advocating giving this land over because the Palestinians "deserve it," but because I believe in the Palestinian right to self-determination toward a democratic mode of government that can only be accomplished in a Palestinian state and I also believe it to be in Israel's best interest.
The land that is now the state of Israel has had an historical Jewish presence in it long before the advent of Islam or what we call "Palestinians" today. This is the vision that the remarkable individuals and communities had who worked to establish a Jewish state there, and they admirably empowered themselves in achieving this dream. Nobody else did the job for them. I say let the Palestinians also work to empower themselves and their children in a nation of their own. They alone are responsible for demanding accountable leaders of their nation, as any democracy (such as Israel, believe it or not) is supposed to do.
The Oslo peace accords and their failed notion of "land for peace" is a far cry from the present situation - an idea that is ultimately laughable today. Peace cannot be bought with handshakes and stacks of paper. In this case and at this point in history, it seems that the only effective option to deal with the most threatening issue at hand (saving human lives from people who are so bent on murdering others that they will kill themselves in the process or urge their children to do so), is to have a security barrier. More importantly, this security barrier could in fact be a temporary solution if one day there is not this imminent threat of daily terrorism and if there are sincere, sustained negotiations and dialogues existent between the two parties. After all, a wall can be torn down.
Yet it is still not so simple as that. For even while we say that the wall need not be a definite solution to the conflict, but merely a necessary one at this point in time, it is crucial to examine the potentially negative effects that it could have in the longer term. In my estimate, these effects include but are in no way limited to its extremely high financial cost in a society that is already suffering terribly from a dilapidated economy, the inability of some Palestinian towns to have access to a water source or other fundamental necessities because of the barrier's path, and perhaps even the detrimental effects that the wall could have on the environment.
I am tempted to say that the wall should be built with only the consideration of the preservation of human life in mind. But I know in my heart and conscience that having such nearsightedness and stubbornness will most likely only serve to do the opposite. I am not saying that the government of Israel should not have the security of its citizens as its primary concern, but it would greatly behoove Israel to consider the long-term effects of building a barrier and seek to build one that somehow promotes peace and better living conditions for all people rather than deepen the feelings of animosity and resentment between the two sides. In striving to delicately balance these long-term effects of the barrier with the urgent necessity for security, Israel has a powerful opportunity to model righteous behavior to the world in the face of despicable acts of terrorism.