Some officials argue that it is, at least to the extent that the barrier veers into the West Bank and Gaza to protect settlements.
The Palestinians object, among other reasons, because the path of construction veers east of the line in places, to protect settlements or to avoid unfavorable topography, taking land they consider theirs.
They exist in the glorious Jewish past and in the messianic future but not in the reality of today, in which Jewish soldiers give their lives to protect settlements; in which Palestinians live and die at checkpoints; in which Israel is becoming a pariah among the nations; and in which Israel may one day cease to exist as a democratic Jewish state.
Homestead woodlands have played a key role in protecting settlements from strong winds, as well as providing timber, green manure, and other services.
"It's very positive that the Obama administration has drawn a line in the sand, reiterating what has long been U.S. policy -- policy that some groups are clearly trying to shift in favor of protecting settlements," echoed Lara Friedman, director of policy and government relations at the pro-Israel group Americans For Peace Now.
Sea defenses designed to protect settlements on the Essex coast from tidal flooding had altered patterns of erosion and long shore drift, preventing sediment accreting at one coastal conservation site.
From 1180 to 1225 King Philip II built a new wall that protected the settlements on both banks.
From the fortress that protected the settlement, a track led south past these lands to False Bay on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula and on beyond Muizenberg and Kalk Bay to Simon's Bay, where the East Indiaman trade ships could find shelter from northwesterly winter gales.
It may have protected a settlement on the upper part of the Rock, around where the modern Queen's Road is, but firm archaeological evidence is lacking.
