Israel should begin to construct a physical barrier in those areas where the border is easiest to define, and could then continue the barrier in those areas where Israel will annex very small portions of the West Bank to incorporate the majority of Israeli settlers. Recent polls show more than three-quarters of Israelis support total separation. Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who supports the plan, is, however, under pressure from the Palestinians and the United States not to proceed. Reasons for Israel to Disengage. Palestinian society is facing very serious political and economic difficulties that have worsened since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.
Positive change is unlikely.
If these difficulties continue, both the international community and the United States may hold Israel responsible for the ails plaguing Palestinian society. Once there is disengagement, however, the moral responsibility for these problems would no longer be on Israel. Thus, the number of Israelis who work to make Israel a modern state, capable of defending itself, would shrink. Since the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the closure of border crossings, crime has dropped forty percent even without a physical barrier. A physical barrier decreases such activity because people can no longer escape over the border into immunity.